Welcome to ATL John Collins!

[Jamaaliver]

Uhhhhhhhhhhhhhh, what? You do know that we are losing on purpose right?

You know we were one of the worst offensive teams last season also, right?

This isn't a recent trend.

[macd-gm]

Any big that sets a pick or attempts a hand-off will now be known as being "out of position".

[Jamaaliver]

Any big that sets a pick or attempts a hand-off will now be known as being "out of position".

C'mon...you're better than that.

All bigs aren't built the same. And none of our other big men are as gifted inside players as John Collins.

Spoiler:

For example, look at the highlights from Muscala's big night. Most (All?) of his half court shots are initiated on the perimeter.

He had a nice backdoor cut, but otherwise...it all starts at the 3 point line. And for him, that's a solid approach.

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I just believe Collins should be utilized differently, more in keeping with his strengths.

That 5-out offensive approach drives me crazy...particularly when Dennis isn't even in the game.

[macd-gm]

Uhhhhhhhhhhhhhh, what? You do know that we are losing on purpose right?

You know we were one of the worst offensive teams last season also, right?

This isn't a recent trend.

Seems like last season was the year we started a center who stayed close to the basket.

[Jamaaliver]

Uhhhhhhhhhhhhhh, what? You do know that we are losing on purpose right?

You know we were one of the worst offensive teams last season also, right?

This isn't a recent trend.

Seems like last season was the year we started a center who stayed close to the basket.

1. Yes. We all agree that Dwight played poorly.
2. Budenholzer admitted during the playoffs he was 'still figuring out how to use' him.
3. John Collin's Offensive rating this year is almost identical to Dwight Howard's offensive rating last year.

The common denominator is coaching. Bud doesn't know how to truly utilize inside players.

[Spud2nique]

You know we were one of the worst offensive teams last season also, right?

This isn't a recent trend.

Seems like last season was the year we started a center who stayed close to the basket.

1. Yes. We all agree that Dwight played poorly.
2. Budenholzer admitted during the playoffs he was 'still figuring out how to use' him.
3. John Collin's Offensive rating this year is almost identical to Dwight Howard's offensive rating last year.

The common denominator is coaching. Bud doesn't know how to truly utilize inside players.

Which coach does? If Bud can’t do it, nobody can. He was with DRob and Duncan for like 20 years...

[Spud2nique]

And I hope we aren’t comparing Dwight to Collins...Collins adds to his game. Dwight goes out and gets 9 baby mommas and stick does a weak funky hook. Dwight, Smoove...same cut...lazy kids that had everything handed to them due to athleticism. Also, and I don’t want to get you know who here going but they both didn’t attend college...just saying. #myboymikal4president #stayinschoolkids #nbadontcareaboutyouonlybiz #realtalk

[Jamaaliver]

1. No, we're not comparing Collins and Dwight. That wouldn't be fair to either player.

2. 'You know who'? Did you just Voldemort me, dude?


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[Jamaaliver]

Now this...is more like it. Well drawn up play for the JC Kid. Coming off of a screen, getting the ball at the elbow -- facing the hoop.

Nice aggressive move attacking the basket by the rookie and a splendid finish.

Code: Select all

The Magic couldn’t keep Collins away from the rim early. During his seven-minute run in the first quarter, Collins threw down two powerful dunks on cuts to the rim and collected five rebounds. Collins also had a couple of nice spin moves off the dribble, an element he’s added to his game lately. Budenholzer: “He’s just trying to grow and expand, just like everybody. He’s doing well.”

myAJC

Giving credit where it's due:

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[jayu70]

I was reading through some of the early thoughts on JC
1. Just gotta say, I'm glad he wasn't sent to the GL for 2 months, he handled his hype really well
2. There was some concern about his assist numbers from college, he was effective as a passer - if a player made a cut to the basket he could hit them in stride, that aspect developed over the course of the season.
3. He was a foul machine the early part of the season, not so much to end the season.


Things to work on:
1. PnP game, we know he can PnR
2. His hands - he had a lot of fumbles

Bud has to get him more involved in offense. When he sets pick and gets ball back I'd like to see him make a move to basket, not look for another handoff.

[Jamaaliver]

^ I agree with most of this.

I will say:

a) the kid is very level headed and mature for his years.

b) he definitely hit a wall and struggled for a bit there -- during the very part of the season I hap hoped he would take a larger role in the offense. (His percentages dropped every month from November, December, January into February. His injury likely played a role here, too.)

c) I still support sending any draftees to Coach Longshaft and the G League staff to develop.
Exceptions: Doncic, Mikal, Brunson.

[HMFFL]

Collins gives me hope that we're building a strong foundation for the future. His maturity has been a relief and I look forward to him growing with our team for many years (if not his career). I'm happy to have this young man on our team!

[Jamaaliver]

Ahhh, to be 20 years old without a care in the world.

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[Jamaaliver]

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[Jamaaliver]

Hawks player season review: John Collins

It remains to be seen what kind of NBA player John Collins will be as a finished product. But, based on his performance as a rookie, Collins could generate excellent value for the Hawks as the No. 19 overall pick of the 2017 draft.

Collins was a rotation player for the Hawks from the first game and eventually became a starter through injury and attrition. Collins’ production and efficiency compared favorably to NBA rookies who played at least 1,000 minutes, with high rates of turnovers and fouls as the only major weak points in his statistical profile.



Collins used his superlative athleticism and high effort to score efficiently around the basket. Opponents had trouble keeping away from the rim on cuts, rolls and putbacks: Collins ranked in the 59th percentile or better in points scored per possession on those play types, according to Synergy Sports.

Collins immediately established himself as a top offensive rebounder: his offensive rebounding percentage ranked in the 73rd percentile among bigs, according to Cleaning the Glass. Collins is a quick jumper who has good instincts finding the ball off the rim and keeping it alive with multiple efforts.

Collins’ prowess on putbacks is a major reason why he converted 59.5 percent of his field-goal attempts at the rim, per CTG, to rank in the 82nd percentile among bigs. Collins shot 59.8 percent on 2-point field goals with just 171 of his 358 field-goal attempts coming from outside of four feet.

Late in the season Collins flashed more moves off the dribble, including spinning to short fadeaway jumpers, and began taking more 3-pointers at coach Mike Budenholzer’s urging. After attempting only two 3-pointers over his first 31 games, Collins attempted 45 over his final 43. He made 15 of his 40 attempts (38 percent) in non-garbage time, according to CTG, including 12 of 34 tries from the corner.

Collins showed defensive promise while playing about 40 percent of his 1,785 minutes at center, according to B-Ref. He used his lateral quickness to effectively guard ball-handlers on pick-and-rolls and, for the most part, alleviated concerns about his ability to protect the basket in the NBA because of his relatively short wingspan.

The future appears bright for Collins, who already has established himself as a legitimate rotation big in the NBA. As a rookie he was an efficient and productive low-usage offensive player, and provided defensive value with his shot blocking and versatility. Collins can elevate his game by improving his defensive awareness and continuing to expand his offensive game so that he can remain efficient as he gets more opportunities.

myAJC

[Jamaaliver]

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Grade: C+

According to several metrics, Collins was the most productive Hawk for the length of the regular season. He led the team in Player Efficiency Rating (18.3), win shares per 48 minutes (.145), defensive box plus/minus (DBPM) (1.7) and Value Over Replacement Player (1.7).

He was also a beast on the offensive glass. The vast majority of his shots were around the rim (58 percent of his attempts) and that was where he was the most efficient (73 percent). He generated many of his points as the roll man on ball screens, averaging 1.13 points per possession in those situations.

Collins was also surprisingly effective from 3-point range, shooting 34 percent from distance. Of course, he only took 47 shots from downtown, so it’s a small sample size, but it’s also encouraging to see the big man stretch the floor and make some long-range shots.

Atlanta was slightly better when Collins was off the floor, as the team’s net rating improved from -6.8 to -5.3 when he sat. The glaring difference came on the offensive end, as the Hawks’ scored 3.3 more points per 100 possessions when Collins went to the bench.

The team struggled the most when Collins and Dennis Schroder shared the floor. Despite their games being seemingly suited for one another, Collins and Schroder were like oil and water, as the duo had a -11.6 net rating in more than 700 minutes of play.

The suspect shooting percentages–especially on Schroder’s end–likely contributed to their struggles. Opposing defenses had no reason to respect Collins’ mid-range game (36 percent) or Schroder’s outside stroke (51.5 true shooting percentage), which meant that opponent could sag off of the two and dare one of them to shoot.

[Jamaaliver]

Collins is ranked as a top-10 rookie by CBS Sports. Hopefully, this portends a selection to one of the All-Rookie teams:

8. John Collins -- PF
Atlanta Hawks

Final stats: 10.5 points, 7.3 rebounds, 1.1 blocks

A pleasant surprise for the dismal Hawks, Collins showed right away that he's a high-efficiency scorer, rebounder and shot blocker. As he got more minutes, Collins further developed his passing ability and slowly stretched his range out to the 3-point line, which takes his ceiling from an energy big off the bench to a potential starting stretch-four or even stretch-five. He's not going to create a lot of offense on his own, but he can catch lobs, spot up and crash the offensive glass while blocking shots on the other end.

Overall, the Hawks have to be happy.

CBS Sports

[Jamaaliver]

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[azuresou1]

I like John Collins how he's been playing - basically like young Amare. I don't think he needs to change anything about his game - he just has to get better at everything.

[Jamaaliver]

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