Blazers vs Hawks: Damian Lillard, C.J. McCollum ruled out for Portland

In our preview from this morning, we discussed in some detail that the Portland Trail Blazers are a dangerous team based on the offensive talent of their starting backcourt.

Now, it has been announced that both members of that backcourt will miss Monday's game against the Atlanta Hawks with injury issues.

Blazers announce that Damian Lillard (left foot plantar fasciitis) and CJ McCollum (bilateral ankle sprains) are OUT tonight vs. Atlanta.

— Joe Freeman (@BlazerFreeman) December 21, 2015

Damian Lillard is, unquestionably, the best player on the Portland roster, and this announcement is noteworthy for an additional reason. The talented point guard has appeared in 275 consecutive games to begin his career, and this will be Lillard's first absence from the lineup. In addition, McCollum brings a scoring punch to the table in a variety of ways, and Portland will be quite short-handed without both players in the lineup.

It appears safe to assume that Allen Crabbe, Gerald Henderson and Tim Frazier would be in line for more playing time for Portland, but with this announcement, the complexion of Monday's game changed entirel