3. John Collins’ improved three-point shot
In just his third NBA season, John Collins has turned himself into a legitimate threat from behind the three-point line. Collins has gone from shooting just 0.6 threes per game on 34.0 percent from behind the arc in his rookie season all the way up to 3.6 three-point attempts per game on 40.1 percent shooting, according to Basketball-Reference. This is an incredible jump from Collins to not only gain the confidence to shoot more threes but to simultaneously increase his percentage is impressive.
If Collins is able to maintain this level of efficiency from behind the three-point line and continue to increase the volume of his three-point shots, this will complement Clint Capela perfectly. The one problem with having a guy like Capela on your team is that he needs to be surrounded by four shooters at all times. We saw this with the Houston Rockets being unable to play both Capela and Russell Westbrook at the same time effectively.
This is why Collins’ ability to shoot the three is incredibly important in him fitting alongside Capela in the front-court. The way the Hawks are currently constructed, they have nobody on their roster that cant shoot three’s except for Capela. This bodes well for Capela’s ability to fit in seamlessly, especially if Collins continues to improve from behind the arc.