Moderators: dms269, Jamaaliver, HMFFL
jayu70 wrote:This action, I like...Trae and Collins will command a lot of attention, leaving our wings wide open for 3, they just gotta knock 'em down.
Jamaaliver wrote:^Unstoppable force meets immovable object...
Jamaaliver wrote:^Unstoppable force meets immovable object...
Thanks for the honesty.MorbidHEAT wrote:My dislike for Lin started during Linsanity. It was absurd. It's probably irrational dislike at this point, but man he gets on my nerves. He's been tearing us up though.
Thanks for the honesty.MorbidHEAT wrote:My dislike for Lin started during Linsanity. It was absurd. It's probably irrational dislike at this point, but man he gets on my nerves. He's been tearing us up though.
FansidedJohn Collins is the vertical spacer to Atlanta’s shooting
It’s clear Schlenk intends to fashion basketball utopia in Atlanta with a herd of shooting and playmaking, paying homage to his former employer, the Golden Sate Warriors. Yet where the two tracks diverge is in second-year big man John Collins, the type of vertical spacer Golden State has never rostered.
Schlenk has preached offensive versatility throughout his brief tenure; yet with Collins, he has a multifaceted youngster who can't be molded into a Stephen, Klay or Draymond-sized box.
During this year’s Summer League, Collins flashed the means for generating his own buckets, hinting at go-to scoring potential from the elbows and perimeter, skills often elusive for 4s and 5s. If Collins carries over those shooting patterns into the regular season, he’ll slowly become a traditional floor-spacer in addition to the vertical spacing identity he’s already crafted. It’ll embed another dynamic into Atlanta’s offense as Collins provides off-ball scoring equity beyond the occasional dump-off or putback slam.
With the shifty, lightning-quick Schröeder at the helm last season, the Hawks ranked eighth in the NBA in pace (100.60), which enabled Collins to flank on the wings and beam down the floor for buckets as he finished in the 90th percentile in transition efficiency (1.36 PPP) — albeit on just 67 possessions.
Expect more quick-hitting opportunities for Collins next to first year PG Trae Young, given the rookie’s propensity for driving an up-tempo charge...
Pick-and-roll plays should also play a huge roll in the Hawks offense this year. Young was a pick-and-roll savant in college, yielding 0.88 points per possession (76th percentile), and it’s his versatility as an initiator that helps set him apart from Schröeder. According to The Basketball Index, Collins’ boasted an “A” roll gravity and was in the 99th percentile in the Pick and Roll -- among power forwards with at least 1,500 minutes played last season. When he dives to the rim and lures defenders into the paint, Young can pounce on those lapses and sling passes to the bevy of shooting wings or cutters.
When Schlenk and Co. pulled the trigger on shipping Luka Doncic to Dallas back in June, they made a calculated gamble and placed the future of the franchise on Young’s shoulders. Beyond the translation of his shooting to the league, perhaps the most important development in Young’s game will be his performance in self-creation scenarios. He struggled at times to manufacture space or get into the lane. If Young’s regularly confined to the perimeter and unable to collapse defenses, Collins’ and the Hawks’ long-term offensive potential have a clear ceiling.
macd-gm wrote:Baze and Prince need to knock down shots. That will make or break our offense.
Thanks for the honesty.MorbidHEAT wrote:My dislike for Lin started during Linsanity. It was absurd. It's probably irrational dislike at this point, but man he gets on my nerves. He's been tearing us up though.
Code: Select all
The Hawks are his seventh team in nine seasons.
“I’m very familiar with new starts,” Lin said. “I’ve played on many teams. It doesn’t really feel like I’ve ever had some type of strong consistency through my career, so it’s not that weird for me I guess.” Associated PressNEW SCHEME
Collins likes the change to a fast-break offence. With Young replacing Dennis Schroder, Collins is likely to have more chances to score in the half court instead of mostly just cleaning up at the rim.
“It’s very new coming from coach Bud last year,” Collins said. Pierce is “very high-paced, very fast-paced. He wants to get the ball moving. He’s all about the good-to-great passes, he calls it. Making the extra pass and trying to find those open guys.”
BOMBS AWAY
Pierce wants everyone, including longtime reserve center and new Atlanta starter Alex Len, shooting 3s. Young can’t wait to fire away.
“Yeah, for sure,” Young said. “He wants to get off a lot of shots, definitely a lot of 3s, so that’s definitely exciting. We’ve got to do it in the right manner and try to do it the right ways.”
That doesn’t mean Young isn’t going to dribble into the paint and dish off.
“Whenever you’re aggressive towards the rim, a lot of people suck in to towards the paint and then you’re able to get open shots around the perimeter,” Young said. “When you’re attacking and getting to the free throw line, it forces the defence to be more aggressive, so you get more open 3s.”
The AthleticFour games into the preseason, Pierce was adamant that Young already knows everything the Hawks want to do on offense. He just doesn’t know the nuances of every player yet. He doesn’t know if Len likes receiving his passes high coming off the pick-and-roll or if a bounce pass is what Len prefers or if Len needs to be set on the pick-and-pop when receiving a pass for a 3.
And Pierce is clear that Young is probably not going to know all of the nuances of his teammates until the end of the season.
“It’s a big responsibility to be a point guard in the NBA,” Carter said. “With him being the great shooter and scorer that he is and passer, understanding who’s rolling, who needs to get touches — there are so many things. He listens to everybody’s information that he gets. There’s a lot of information that he gets while still being the Trae Young that we all know and drafted. He’s only going to get better.”
“Trae’s unbelievable,” Len said. “Everyone looks at him as a shooter, but he’s a great playmaker. He reminds me of Steve Nash a little bit with the way he tightropes the baseline — he sees everybody. He always finds the open man.”
Jamaaliver wrote:Why do people keep trying to include our 30-year-old, journeyman, backup PG in this team's core?
It's Young Trae and J Collins...everybody else is playing for a job. (Or for the opportunity to be traded.)Code: Select all
The Hawks are his seventh team in nine seasons.
“I’m very familiar with new starts,” Lin said. “I’ve played on many teams. It doesn’t really feel like I’ve ever had some type of strong consistency through my career, so it’s not that weird for me I guess.”
macd-gm wrote:Jamaaliver wrote:Why do people keep trying to include our 30-year-old, journeyman, backup PG in this team's core?
5
It's Young Trae and J Collins...everybody else is playing for a job. (Or for the opportunity to be traded.)Code: Select all
The Hawks are his seventh team in nine seasons.
“I’m very familiar with new starts,” Lin said. “I’ve played on many teams. It doesn’t really feel like I’ve ever had some type of strong consistency through my career, so it’s not that weird for me I guess.”
Trae, Collins, Len
Jamaaliver wrote:Man, you guys are drinking the Alex Len kool-aid super hard...after 4 pre-season games.
I like the signing and think his best days are ahead of him. But I'm hesitant to take him into long term consideration so soon.