Atlanta Hawks dud from second loss to Jazz: John Collins has to impact the game even on off-shooting nights
One of the better stories for the Hawks this season has been John Collins. Statistically, he is experiencing a dip in his raw numbers on the year just as the rest of the team is. But he has still been one of their most consistent performers night in and night out in what has been a rough start to the season.
Collins is averaging 15.5 points and 8.5 boards with a career-high 2.3 assists per game. He’s matching a career-high and shooting 58.3 percent from the floor and has set a new benchmark in shooting 45.5 percent from beyond the arc.
None of that was present on Tuesday versus Utah.
The 6-foot-9 high-flying forward tallied just seven points while going a dismal 3-of-11 from the floor and 1-of-2 from deep.
Worse yet, he finished the game with just four rebounds making this easily his worse game of the still-young campaign. It marks the fewest rebounds he has hauled in during a single game this season.
Even in his previous two outings with fewer than 10 points, he had at least seven rebounds.
We just gave Collins the stud of the game for his effort against the Phoenix Suns when he had 26 points and 10 boards a couple of games ago making this stinker was even more disappointing.
In Collins’ defense, this was the second leg of a back-to-back. And the Hawks were without two starters, meaning the Jazz could focus more of their efforts on him and Young.
Look for Collins to bounce back on Friday against the Denver Nuggets who should have Nikola Jokic back from suspension.