Atlanta Hawks: 2018-19 player grades for John Collins

Final Grade

So, in reference to those questions posited in the intro, what do we know about John Collins after going through just about everything? Well for starters, we know he isn’t a stat padder; the Atlanta Hawks’ net rating went from minus-8.9 to minus-2.3 when Collins played, so that ends that.

Does he need others to create his own shot? At this point, the answer is yes. Collins’ offensive limitations aren’t at DeAndre Jordan levels, but it’s safe to say that Pierce won’t be drawing up a bunch of iso and pick-and-roll plays for him anytime soon.

Is he as good as his numbers suggest? That’s a little trickier to decipher.

Most of the advanced metrics like Player Efficiency Rating (21.8) and Win Shares per 48 minutes (.158) laud Collins for his efficiency and hustle on both ends of the floor, but there are enough red flags in his offensive game to give fans pause.

After all, most All-Stars aren’t as dependent on their teammates’ abilities to make things happen as Collins is.

The ones that do usually have other elite skills to mask their shortcomings as a scorer; Rudy Gobert is an elite rim protector despite having no discernable post game and Draymond Green provides the Golden State Warriors with top-notch defense and playmaking despite and eroding jump shot.

As good as Collins was defensively in 2018-19, he’s not in the same class as those two, though he does shoot the 3 better than they do.

For now, Collins is a good, young, high-energy big who can stretch the floor, crash the boards and play some good defense. That alone makes him a fringe All-Star, but for him to reach that next level of stardom, he must continue to expand his offensive game.

Given what he’s done so far, there’s no reason to think he can’t do it.

Final Grade: B