Atlanta Hawks: 7 Takeaways from First Week of Preseason
By Chris Guest
John Collins/Trae Young Combo Will Be Awesome
In his first preseason game, John Collins looked amazing.
Coming off a stellar All-Rookie Second Team campaign, Collins surely wanted to make his presence felt in the preseason as well. He succeeded in his first game, tallying 18 points in 19 minutes on 8 of 14 shooting.
Beyond that, Collins only played 12 minutes (4 points) in the game against the Grizzlies and sat out the contest with the Thunder for rest.
His absence was sorely felt, as his new point guard, Trae Young, lacked a reliable lob target and active big man, dump-off option in the post.
The Young/Collins combination should be extremely enjoyable to watch during the regular season for Atlanta Hawks fans, as this eminently rewatchable clip conveys:
Young’s heady passing and high-IQ skill set should ably pair with Collins’s tremendous athleticism and rim-running habits. Ice Trae has piled up 15 assists (vs. 8 turnovers) through the team’s first three preseason games, and his offensive acumen has generally been enjoyable to watch as he feels out the NBA game at (almost) its highest levels.
Seeing both Young and Collins grow side-by-side in the 2018-19 regular season will be one of the main reasons to tune in to watch the Atlanta Hawks next year – as well as to hopefully catch some magnificent passes from Young to JC.