CJ McCollum
McCollum is the Hawks' starting lead guard this season: a 35-year-old scorer in a veteran role, not the primary playmaker.
Role
He started Saturday's game against New Orleans (Oct. 31), per an Underdog NBA lineup alert relayed by hottakes.com. The starting five was McCollum, Nickeil Alexander-Walker, Dyson Daniels, Jalen Johnson and Onyeka Okongwu. NBA.com's player news shows 14 points in 24 minutes in that loss, and 20 points on 10/27. The SI and Yahoo preseason projections have Kingston Flemings as the backup point guard. SI's author guessed he would play 15 to 17 minutes and start if McCollum missed time. Aaron Wiggins and Luguentz Dort (who has been added to the roster) are also on hand, and Yahoo expects Quin Snyder to keep the starting lineup unchanged at least to start the season. I did not find a published minutes or usage figure for this season, and I did not read any rest or back-to-back plan. The wire note says he sat out a preseason game for rest, and nothing I found says that is a pattern.
The starting five went 19-4 last season after McCollum joined it, with a +21.4 net rating over 822 possessions per Cleaning the Glass, as cited by SI. He re-signed on a one-year, $21 million deal as the established starter. SI also notes ESPN's fantasy blurb that he would see an expanded offensive role if Johnson missed time. Coverage describes him as a shotmaker who can still score.
SI's writers say he is no longer an All-Star-caliber guard, and passing and playmaking have never been his strength. They also want others in the starting five to carry more of the scoring so the team does not lean on a soon-to-be-35-year-old. The offense runs through Johnson and the other young starters, so his usage looks capped. ESPN's blurb says he should not be counted on as a night-to-night 20-point scorer, and a 24-minute outing in a blowout is a modest workload. Flemings, Wiggins and Dort add competition for guard minutes, and his age leaves rest days possible.
Where analysts split
Broad agreement on the starting job. The only open question I found is how much scoring and playmaking he carries, and that depends on the new guard depth (Flemings, Wiggins, Dort) and on Johnson's health. That is my reading of the coverage, not a debate any writer stated outright.
Research confidence: reported. Outlooks are grounded in web search over current reporting and refreshed through the season.
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