Hawks rookie John Collins wasn't a lottery pick and he's playing 22.9 minutes per game for the team with the worst record in the NBA. Those factors mean Collins typically isn't included among the national discussions about the league's top rookies but ESPN.com's Kevin Pelton includes Collins among his first rookie rankings (Insider).
Pelton ranks Collins No. 5 behind Ben Simmons (Sixers), Jayson Tatum (Celtics), Donovan Mitchell (Jazz) and OG Anunoby (Raptors). Simmons, Tatum and Mitchell were lottery picks, while Anunoby was selected four spots behind Collins, the No. 19 overall pick.
In explaining why Collins ranks fifth, Pelton cites factors Hawks watchers know well about Collins: he’s productive, efficient and particularly effective as a pick-and-roll rim runner. Writes Pelton:
With those high-percentage finishes, Collins' 54.4 percent shooting as a roll man in the pick-and-roll ranks seventh among players with at least 50 such attempts, according to Synergy Sports tracking on NBA.com/Stats.
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