An exploration of the season that second year Atlanta Hawks big man John Collins is having.
After an excellent start to his career in his rookie year, which saw him nab Second Team All-Rookie honors, though he was deserving of the First Team in the eyes of this writer, John Collins of the Atlanta Hawks is picking up right where he left off last season.
Though a foot injury caused him to miss the first 15 games of the season, JC has come back with a vengeance and has been obliterating the competition since returning from injury. Even in his first game back, when he was limited to 12 minutes played, he dropped 12 points, 2 boards and 1 block in that limited playing time.
That game was but a tantalizing precursor to what was to come this season for John Collins.
So far, he leads the Atlanta Hawks in a multitude of categories: points per game (18.7), total rebounds per game (10.4), defensive rebounds per game (6.6), offensive rebounds per game (3.9), Player Efficiency Rating (21.1), win shares (1.7) and box plus/minus (1.0).
Beyond that, his efficient scoring around the basket has led him to have some stunning efficiency numbers. Collins trails only Miles Plumlee (who has played 400 minutes less than JC) in field goal percentage with 57.6 percent, two-point field goal percentage with 64.1 percent and effective field goal percentage of 59.9 percent.
Collins’s sky-high true shooting percentage of 62 percent trails only Plumlee (65.4%) and premier Atlanta Hawks trade asset Jeremy Lin (62.1%).
The eye proves all of this statistical jargon to be true as well, as Collins dominates games unlike any other player in recent Atlanta Hawks history. As such, John the Baptist deserves to be getting as much All-Star buzz as possible.
Though this season is far from over, through the first 20 games of this season, John Collins is producing a stat line that only three players have ever produced in the history of the NBA. With over 18 PPG, over 10 RPG and over 3.5 ORPG combined with a 62 percent true shooting percentage, Collins joins only Charles Barkley, Artis Gilmore and Jeff Ruland (who suffered an injury-shortened career with the Washington Bullets) to put up such an efficient and effective stat line. Collins is the youngest player to do it – at the tender age of 21.
Similarly, only two players other than Collins this season are producing 18 PPG, 10 RPG and 3 ORPG: Anthony Davis and Karl-Anthony Towns. Pretty good company for our big man. Oh, Collins also has the highest effective field goal percentage (59.9) and true shooting percentage (62) of the three. Not bad JC!
If John Collins can continue to produce with such stunning efficiency, he’s a lock for the All-Star game in the Eastern Conference. Even if he’s snubbed (again), he’s having one of the most memorable seasons in recent Atlanta Hawks history – in only his second year in the league.