Atlanta Hawks: 2018-19 player grades for John Collins

Highlights

Three of John Collins’ best performances were highlighted by his strongest traits: finishing around the basket and rebounding. Take his 35-point, 16-rebound performance on Feb. 2 against the godawful Phoenix Suns, for instance.

Ten of those 16 came on the offensive end, which resulted in more than a few Hawks possessions ending like this:

He followed the same game plan on March 9 against the Brooklyn Nets, racking up 33 points on 13-for-20 shooting and 19 rebounds. However, Collins mixed in some diversity with his usual barrage of flushes and putbacks.

Here he is forcing Rodions Kurucs into a backpedal before muscling in this tough layup:

He sprinkled in some floaters and jumpers as well, but he mostly stuck to what worked for him all season:

Going by Game Score, his best outing came against the Chicago Bulls on Jan. 23 (not the one you’re thinking of). The Atlanta Hawks outscored the Bulls 42-25 in the opening quarter and Collins’ 3-point shooting and activity sparked the Hawks’ hot start.

Collins scored 15 points in that quarter and ended the night with a season-high 35 on 14-for-16 “shooting”. Again, Collins did most of his damage in the paint, his 4-for-4 performance from behind the arc showed that leaving him unattended on the perimeter isn’t a safe proposition, either.