
Heck, it might be time for a new thread...
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3. John Collins needs to be more involved
Collins has arguably been the most consistent player for the Hawks on both ends of the floor to start the season. Offensively, he’s shooting 58 percent from the floor, 45 percent from 3, 82 percent from the free throw line, and his passing ability has noticeably improved. And yet, there are too many games where he’s just not involved in the offense. I have no explanation as to why he’s averaging 0.3 more shot attempts per game than Cam Reddish who plays 8 fewer minutes than Collins. It makes no sense to me, and it’s truly baffling.
The game against Golden State, Collins started the first half 6-of-6 from the floor and had 18 points. He finished 6-of-7 from the floor, even though the Warriors had no answer for him offensively. Even when Golden State started trapping Young and going to a box-and-one to get the ball out of his hands, it still somehow didn’t find its way into the team’s most efficient offensive player.
“It’s always tough to analyze what’s the right way to approach shot attempts,” Collins said after the Warriors loss. “We got a lot of guys on this team who can produce, add value on the offensive end and play well. I was trying to do my best to play my game while allowing others to eat as necessary because if I’m out there worried about shot attempts, I’m not playing the right way. But I also think that you work somebody in that was hot into the game. But I’m never a guy that’s worried about shot attempts. I’m worried about flow and just winning the game and sometimes shot attempts are tricky.”
Since the Lloyd Pierce days, Collins’ involvement in the offense has fluctuated it seems night-to-night. Both Pierce and McMillan have both said that they do not call many, if any, specific plays for Collins. While Collins is involved in the pick-and-roll with Young, most of his offensive game is mainly just in the flow of the game whereas others do have set actions that they’re running to get them open looks.![]()
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It just seems like it would behoove the Hawks to find a way to feature him more often when he’s playing as efficiently as he is on all three levels. I’ve said it before and I’ll continue saying it, the Hawks’ offensive hierarchy should be Young and then Collins. What’s left after that should go to the hottest shooter out of Bogdan Bogdanovic, Kevin Huerter, De’Andre Hunter and Cam Reddish.
jayu70 wrote: