Atlanta Hawks Fall to Detroit Pistons 105-91 in Return of John Collins

An ugly performance from the Hawks marred the return of John Collins after the promising rookie had missed the previous six games with a sprained AC joint in his left shoulder. JC’s AC must’ve healed up quite nicely, as he was one of the few bright spots for the Hawks in what ended up being a haphazard blowout at home.

The Hawks seemed out of sorts, especially after a competitive 1^st quarter that Hawks that the home team won 31-30. It was all downhill from there, after the Pistons took control and steamrolled the Hawks on the back of 70 combined points from their starters, including a near triple-double from Andre Drummond (12 points, 19 rebounds, 8 assists).

The home team was only able to manage a miniscule 44 points from their starters, 23 of which were contributed by Ersan Ilyasova, who was the Hawks’ only consistent offensive starter on this night. Ersan finished with those 23 points on a highly efficient 10 of 14 shooting with 3 rebounds, 1 assist and 1 steal.

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Elsewhere among the starters, rough performances abounded. Miles Plumlee started at center and logged no points and a game-worst -19 box plus/minus.

Dennis Schröder racked up the assists with 10, but his scoring evaporated to the tune of only 9 points (he was averaging 20.2 a night) on 3 of 7 shooting.

Taurean Prince, after what was possibly his best-ever game two nights ago against the Cavs, turned in a very poor stat line of 4 points on 1 of 7 shooting with 4 rebounds, 4 assists and -8 BPM.

The lone bright spot for the Hawks on this night was the triumphant return of John Collins. JC came off the bench with his trademark bounce and limitless energy and notched 15 points on 7 of 10 shooting with 7 rebounds, 1 assist and only 2 fouls in 20 minutes of play. JC was also a +3 BPM in a game the Hawks lost by 14 and trailed by upwards of 20 for long periods.

Collins was on a minutes restriction after missing the previous six games with that sprain, but he picked up right where he left off, providing the Hawks with much-needed offensive execution and a nose for the basket.

The natural athleticism and supreme upside of Collins is always tantalizing, and he had both on display on this night. He looked especially good considering his lack of recent playing time, and his dunking ability continues unabated. Collins absolutely baptized fellow rookie Luke Kennard on a lob, causing Hawks TV broadcaster Bob Rathbun to proclaim him as “John The Baptist” (this has been confirmed as the best nickname for John Collins so far this season).

Elsewhere off the bench, the Hawks’ garbage time lineups continue to batter opposing mop-up crews.

Tyler Dorsey, fresh from delivering the Hawks’ G-League affiliate a losing streak-busting victory, came off the bench firing (as is his wont) and hit a 3-pointer on 2 attempts. Dorsey was a +7, and he even had a nice block on Ish Smith in the waning minutes of the 4th quarter in which he went straight up with 2 hands and did not allow Smith to fully extend on a layup attempt.

Malcolm Delaney, lost in the rotation since the recent emergence of Isaiah Taylor, was a better option on this night by providing steady play and more in-control ballhandling. Delaney finished with 6 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists and a +9 BPM in 16 minutes of play – much of which came during a 4^th quarter that the Hawks won 27-20 after the game was well out of h

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Lastly, Tyler Cavanaugh came out smoking hot late in the 4^th, drilling 3 of 3 from the field for 8 points in 8 minutes and notching a +10 BPM in that limited time.

The Atlanta Hawks return to action tomorrow night at 8:00 p.m. EST against the embattled Memphis Grizzlies.