So Far, John Collins is One of the Best Rookies of 2017-18
By Chris Guest
The Atlanta Hawks selected John Collins 19th overall in the NBA draft this offseason, and through 21 games, he already looks to be one of the Hawks’ best players and a definite Rookie of the Year contender.
With the Hawks thoroughly in rebuilding mode after a series of moves in the offseason (including the departure of Paul Millsap to the Denver Nuggets and a trade sending the Dwight Howard Experiment to the Charlotte Hornets for salary fodder and a draft pick), Collins came into the season expecting to get ample playing time.
Hype levels were high for the Wake Forest alumnus, as his exuberant energy and springy athleticism provided far more potential upside than the more seasoned, cerebral players (Taurean Prince, DeAndre’ Bembry) the Hawks had selected in prior years’ drafts.
After more than a month into the 2017-18 campaign, John Collins has continued his impressive growth and looks to be tapping into that upside with one of the best rookie seasons of the year so far.
Though Ben Simmons is providing plenty of highlights, Donovan Mitchell’s recent offensive pyrotechnics have been eye-popping and Jayson Tatum’s veteran-like poise are certainly impressive, John Collins is having a stellar season and is trending towards being one of the steals of the draft and a possible rookie of the year candidate.
Statistically, Collins is killing it. Despite only playing 484 minutes overall, Collins is leading all rookies with a 20.4 Player Efficiency Rating according to Basketball-Reference.com. That solid PER is 28th in the league and also the highest on the Hawks, which is a remarkable feat for a rookie.
More from Soaring Down South
- Start, Bench, Cut: Sorting through the Hawks’ power forward options
- Hawks’ Bogdan Bogdanovic reacts to earning FIBA World Cup championship bid
- When does training camp start for the Atlanta Hawks?
- Grade the trade: Hawks deal Trae Young to Clippers in shocking proposal
- Dejounte Murray rips NBA 2K after Atlanta Hawks ratings reveal
Collins’s main strength is his rebounding, especially on the offensive end. The Glass Master has been a terror on the offensive boards, nabbing a stratospheric 66 offensive rebounds – good for 11th in the league and tops among rookies by a wide margin. That number is good enough for a 15.2 percent offensive rebound percentage, meaning that he ends plays with an offensive rebound 15.2 percent of the time, the 5th-highest mark in the entire NBA.
JC is also 4th in total rebounds among rookies with 149, and he grabs a rebound (either offensive or defensive) 17.4 percent of the time, good for 16th in the league.
In terms of scoring, Collins has shown a knack for getting to the rim with his burst and leaping ability, and his rim-running skills are already quite polished. As a pick-and-roll finisher, Collins shows an appetite for fighting through traffic, though he is still affected by defenders due to his thin frame.
Collins is averaging a solid 11.5 points per game (good for 7th-best among rookies), though the truly striking statistic is his 59.2 shooting percentage from the field, which is 1st among all qualified rookies and 6th in the entire league.
The most surprising aspect of this stat is that Collins has not been the best finisher in the paint, as his inferior bulk inside has forced him to miss some point-blank putbacks and layups, as well as a few of the best missed dunks of the year.
While Collins has been busy stuffing the stat sheet, there is one number that truly jumps off the page for Collins (and not in a good way) – JC is 8th in the NBA with an astronomical 77 personal fouls. Because of that onerous honor, he ranks quite low on the rookie rankings for total minutes played and minutes per game.
Collins has played only 484 minutes so far in his career, good for 12th among rookies, and he is averaging 23.1 minutes per game, which is 11th among qualified rookies.
Because of his propensity for fouling, the sample size for JC’s stats is still quite small, but there is plenty of room for optimism. During a recent four-game stretch, Collins has amassed a career-high 21 points against the San Antonio Spurs, played a career-high 37:31 against the Clippers, had an all-around nice game in a comeback win against the Knicks, and finished a game without fouling for the first time in his career against the Raptors.
When Collins curtails his fouling tendency and plays defense, he has impressed with 18 blocks – tied for third among rookies. JC is also tops among rookies in block percentage with a strong 3.5 percent.
There are areas of Collins’s game that still need improvement (finishing at the rim, fouling, defensive positioning), but more playing time is a panacea for all things. If he focuses on playing solid defense without fouling, Collins can continue to pile up impressive first-year stats on both ends of the floor.
Sadly, Collins suffered a strained AC joint in his left shoulder on November 30th against the Cavaliers and is expected to miss 2-3 weeks. Hopefully, JC returns to action quickly and picks up right where he left off after recuperating from this ailment.