Hawks center John Collins was one of the better rookies in the NBA last season in large part because he attacked the rim with his superlative athletic ability. Collins will have to diversify his game on offense if he is to become more than just a relentless rim runner.
With that in mind, new Hawks coach Lloyd Pierce is telling Collins to “pop” more in his second season after his predecessor as coach, Mike Budenholzer, focused on the “roll.” The “pop” involves setting a high screen and then stepping out to the perimeter to receive a pass in position to shoot, while the “roll” means setting the screen and the diving to the basket.
“It’s actually been kind of funny because I’ve been kind of getting confused in my brain,” Collins said after the Hawks opened summer league play Monday. “Bud always had me ‘rolling, rolling, rolling,’ and now (Pierce) is like, ‘Hey, pop a little bit.’ I started to do that at the end of last year but now starting off the year he wants me to pop some (more).
“It’s going to be another adjustment learning when to roll and when to pop in coach’s system. I knocked down one today. It felt good. I’m going to keep on shooting.”
During his rookie season Collins was one of the best roll men in the NBA. His 1.13 points per possession on 165 plays used as the roll man ranked in the 62nd percentile, according to Synergy Sports. About 70 percent of Collins' shot attempts were within four feet of the basket, per Cleaning the Glass, and his accuracy ranked in the 68th percentile among NBA big men.
Scoring at the basket likely will always be the focus for Collins, who gave opponents fits at the rim as a rookie. But that aspect of his offense could become even more effective if defenders also have to be concerned about him stepping out to shoot 3-pointers.
“We are trying to expand part of his game,” Pierce said.
After Collins attempted one 3-pointer over his first 21 games, he had 46 tries over the final 53 games. For the season Collins made 16 of 47 3-point attempts (34 percent).
However, Collins got the bulk of his 3-point chances while stationed in the corner on spread plays: All but one of his 3-point attempts were out of spot-up plays, and 34 of them were corner attempts. Now Pierce wants Collins to create more opportunities out of pick-and-roll actions. Collins did it against the Grizzlies on Monday when he made a 3-pointer from near the middle of the floor on a pass from Tyler Dorsey.
The Hawks showed another new wrinkle for Collins against the Grizzlies. He initiated a handful of plays from the elbows, on either side of the lane at the free-throw line. From there Collins can hand the ball off to a teammate, turn and shoot, pass from the elbow or drive to the basket looking to score or pass.
“We don’t have to necessarily throw it there every time, but it’s cool that I can get options and go to work,” Collins said. “Once I get comfortable with everything we’re running it’s going to be a lot easier especially with that year of experience.”
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