Why this version of CJ McCollum can be a difference-maker in the West finals

DENVER -- It wasn't hard to hear the noise coming from the Portland Trail Blazers locker room. Even with the door closed and a couple thousand pounds of concrete and cinder blocks in between, the celebration pierced through a few different walls to be heard in the podium room down the hall of the Pepsi Center.

It wasn't improbable to beat the Denver Nuggets on the road in Game 7. The Blazers are good, and they'd won a game already in Denver in the series. But it was an achievement. It was an accomplishment of a goal set before the season, to be the first Portland team since 2000 to play in the conference finals. It was a response to 10 straight playoff losses, including two consecutive…