Scrutiny met McCollum's recent struggles, but a clutch 23-point performance silenced doubters and fueled the Hawks' winning streak.
As every NBA player understands, an 82-game season rarely moves in a straight line. There are stretches where confidence comes easily and others where every possession feels heavier than it should. For CJ McCollum, those swings are familiar territory. Thirteen years into his NBA career, McCollum has lived through enough peaks and valleys to recognize when the noise is louder than the reality.
That perspective was tested recently in Atlanta. A brief run of late-game decisions sparked some scrutiny from Hawks fans, the kind that tends to follow any lead guard tasked with steadying an offense in tight moments. It didn’t linger long. McCollum’s response came the way veterans usually answer questions — with production.
On Monday night, McCollum led the Atlanta Hawks with 23 points in a win over the Indiana Pacers, Atlanta’s third straight victory. Afterward, he addressed the chatter directly, posting a calm reminder on X that reflected both confidence and experience.
"Long season. Don't fret. I really do this," he commented on a retweet that was calling for apologies from the haters.
The line fit the performance. McCollum also grabbed eight rebounds and handed out seven assists against Indiana, filling the box score in ways that don’t always show up in highlight clips. His biggest impact came early, when he caught fire in the first half — knocking down three 3-pointers in a 45-second burst and piling up 17 points before halftime. By the time the Pacers adjusted, Atlanta had already seized control.
Since arriving from the Washington Wizards, McCollum has quietly stabilized the Hawks’ offense. Through eight games in an Atlanta uniform, he’s averaging 18.0 points on 45.5% shooting from the field and 33.3% from three-point range, while taking just over 15 shots per game. The efficiency has fluctuated night to night, but the volume and shot creation have been consistent.
More importantly for Atlanta, McCollum has added a reliable scoring layer alongside Jalen Johnson and Nickeil Alexander-Walker. His presence has eased some of the offensive burden and given the Hawks another option when defenses load up late in games. That balance is part of why fans have begun to warm to the idea of McCollum as a central piece of this iteration of the roster.
Atlanta’s win over Indiana moved the Hawks to 23-25 as they continue climbing back toward .500 and working to escape the bottom of the Eastern Conference playoff picture. The margin remains thin, but the recent stretch has looked steadier than earlier in the month.
There’s little time to linger. The Hawks have Tuesday off before facing a demanding back-to-back against the Boston Celtics and Houston Rockets on Wednesday and Thursday — a stretch that could either reinforce their momentum or test it.
For McCollum, the approach doesn’t change. The season is long, the sample size still growing, and the veteran guard has made a career out of trusting that consistency wins out. His message was simple, but it carried weight.