Picking the three best John Collins games of this season.
Expectations for John Collins were high coming into this season. He had a break out season a year ago for the Atlanta Hawks, earning some All-Star and Most Improved Player consideration. He consistently improved as the season went along, and the hope was his play would only continue to get better.
Things got off to a nice start for JC, with him recording 18 points and 10 rebounds in the season opener and scoring 30 in the Hawks’ fourth game. He would only get to play one more game after that, however, with the NBA suspending him 25 games for violating the league’s anti-drug policy.
After a failed appeal, Collins didn’t play again until late December. His value and importance to the Hawks showed in his absence, with the Hawks going 4-21 in that time. He wasted no time in returning, nabbing a double-double with 27 points and 10 boards in 34 minutes.
Since then, Collins has been fantastic for Atlanta, looking like a star offensively. He’s one of five players to average 20 points and 10 rebounds and has made nearly 60 percent of his shots.
While his box score lines have been fairly consistent, Collins has had a few standout performances, which we’ll be taking a look at here. In the following slides, We’ve put together Collins’ best three games, and below are some honorable mentions.
Honorable Mentions:
- January 28th, loss to Raptors
John Collins and the Atlanta Hawks put up a fight in this one, and Collins was one of the best players on the court. He put up 28 points on 11-14 shooting, adding 13 rebounds and a block.
- January 30th, win over Sixers
Just two days later Collins balled out again, going for just 17 this time but grabbing a season-high 20 boards.
- February 28th, win over Nets
Collins was the Hawks’ leading scorer on a night when they scored 141 points, with the Wake Forest product going for a cool 33 on 11-15 shooting. JC added 13 rebounds and a block.