Atlanta Hawks: 5 goals for John Collins’ rookie season
4. Limit personal fouls
Part of the struggles for John Collins defensively have stemmed from his hesitancy to help on other players, largely because of his inability to avoid contact.
Collins committed an average of over 4.0 fouls per 40 minutes on the floor as a sophomore at Wake Forest, as he was whistled for four fouls on 12 occasions in 33 appearances.
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Judging Collins at the NBA Summer League is a bit misleading, as he can afford to be much more aggressive pursuing the ball with players being allowed to commit 10 personal fouls before disqualification.
Wednesday against the Pelicans, Collins drew five fouls in just 25 minutes.
Considering the frontcourt for Atlanta is largely unproven, Collins will have to limit his foul totals to stay on the floor.
Atlanta brought in Diamond Stone to play alongside Collins. Stone is a second-year forward that also has a penchant for committing fouls, as he ranked seventh in fouls per 48 minutes, with an average of 10.
The Hawks will need Collins to play physically next season, but also avoid collecting a massive amount of personal fouls.