When you see the phrases “Jordan McRae” and “35 Points” in close proximity to each other, your thoughts should immediately go to the time he scored 36 points with the Cavaliers in the final game of the 2015-16 season. If your thoughts do not go in that direction, kindly stop watching this video, and refrain from watching any DownToBuck highlight videos in the future. You are obviously not worthy. Come back when you gain a deep and sincere appreciation for massive scoring displays performed by scrubs.
McRae is a scrub no more, though, which makes these 35 points somewhat less impactful, even after considering that it is one fewer point. When he scored 36 all those years ago, it was on the heels of a half-season-long string of DNPs and extremely low-minute appearances. The other half of the season was spent with him not even on a team. These days, he’s a legit bench option for the ‘Zards. With Bradley Beal out, he’s even more legit. Since returning from injury, he’s scored double figures in all five games, including a 29-burger in a big win over Miami.
I don’t feel like it’s super common for these G-League scoring monsters to be able to come into the NBA and even slightly replicate their success in the minor league, so good for McRae. It took him a lot of shots to get his 35 (26 to be exact, a lot but not way too many), but when you’re going for 40, sometimes you have to take a lot of shots. And when all your teammates are at varying levels of offensive incompetency, sometimes you have to take a lot of shots. Basically, he had to take a lot of shots tonight, and it worked out except for the part where his team lost.