Portland Trail Blazers: 3 goals for Zach Collins in 2018-19
By Ty Delbridge
1. Improved shooting/scoring
Zach Collins needs to become a better shooter and scorer from all over the court if he wants to make an impact this year. As he grows into this body and gets stronger, he needs to find another way to be useful when he is on the court.
He is a stretch-big that will be asked to space the floor. The Blazers will use him in pick-and-pops, pick-and-roll situations, catch-and-shoots and post-up plays. Collins will be asked to fill the role Meyers Leonard was supposed to when he signed that $41 million contract two summers ago.
According to Cleaning The Glass (subscription required), Collins took 36 percent of his shots per game from the 3-point line, 33 percent at the rim and 30 percent from the mid-range. He only made 31 percent of his shots per game from the 3-point line, 34 percent from the mid-range and 59 percent at the rim.
Collins needs to improve his percentage in all three areas, including his free throw percentage, as he only shot 64.3 percent from the line. He has a good looking shot, with the touch and range to be a good shooter in the league.
Collins needs to become more confident in his ability as a shooter and not hesitate when he gets an open look. If he can knock down shots at a consistent rate, defenses will have to focus him, and that will only open up more scoring chances for the offense. A Damian Lillard or CJ McCollum pick-and-pop play with Collins setting the screen could be deadly.
At the rim, he will become a better finisher once he gets stronger, but he has shown a skillful post game and can score in a variety of ways. His strongest shot down low right now is his fadeaway turnaround shot. Nurkic is the Blazers’ post-up scoring big, but Collins could become a better one and a guy the offense goes through down low when they need a basket. Collins is like a Swiss Army knife on offense; he just needs to sharpen his tools up.