I have a friend who has attended several games this year, and watches nearly every game he can't attend--so suffice to say, not a box-score junkie, but an actual fan of the game. He hated the Collins pick at the time and can't stand the fact that he's getting minutes while Swanigan is in the G league. So he asked the question: "Seriously--what should I be watching for with Zach Collins? Rather than just hate on him, I want to see what everyone else sees. Best I can see, He's trying...trying... Genuine question: what is everyone seeing in him that fills then with so much hope in him for the future?" Since I rarely get to actually watch games, I wanted to pose this question to you guys. How would you answer a legitimate query from a Collins hater?
First, why do you get to watch so few games? And in answer to your question, several things come to mind. Foot speed and agility for one. Caleb looks too heavy up top and had hit the floor several times awkwardly in the few games before he was sent to the G. He can dribble with the ball well in the post and has a killer instinct under the basket to want to get to the rim. He has way better hops than Caleb. Caleb can barely dunk and his hops will never improve. This leads to many blocked shots and rim stuffs. Caleb DOES have great court instincts and knows where he should be most of the time it seems ( or he wouldn't be such a good rebounder) ,but Collins also shows that and has what looks to be so far just as decent of an outside shot as Caleb. Caleb gets most of his numbers and eyelook form hustle. He will lose a step in time. Collins does have great hustle, but he also shows many fundamental skills that Caleb doesnt have/show, like much better ball handling skills. You combine that with Caleb being three years more experienced, or to flip it, Collins being three years younger, the upside seems to lean far in the far of Collins having a better long term impact in the NBA.
Tell him to watch a few things: His positioning on the court. How he moves in relation to the ball (excellent spacer). His overall court demeanor (he's a fuckin' killer bro. He has an instinct.) Tell him to look at that block on Harden and his reaction (like he's been there before and it's no thing) Then show him this: Afterward tell him to be patient, use optimism and an objective eye instead of using his feelings.
Some of that actually matches my initial response to him: Offensively--footwork, assertiveness, decision-making, form. Defensively--positioning, reaction, rotations. Overall athleticism, BBIQ. This is what I generally hear from the zeros.
He may or may not see it but he's put on about 3-5 lbs of lean muscle and looks a bit stronger. He REBOUNDS and sets great screens.
The stats won’t be there for a couple of reasons 1) he usually plays somewhere between 15-20 minutes a night. 2) he doesn’t get plays run for him. Every point he scores is either through effort or a bail out play. Basically, rarely, or ever, by design. Despite that he still shows reasons to be on the court: 1. He’s smart. It’s noticable when he’s out of position, because it rarely happens. 2. Fundamentally sound. Defensively he already has verticality figured out. He’s also got excellent footwork around the basket, but we rarely see it because, once again, he doesn’t get plays run for him, and also because his role right now is more perimeter oriented. Once his body catches up to his talent and also gains more trust and experience, his post game should take a significant leap. 3. He’s long and athletic. Stotts trusts him on the perimeter. Maybe too much since he’s almost strictly been at power forward. He can shadow most wings. He uses his length to rebound out of his area. One thing I read Zach say recently is that he’s never played on the perimeter as much as he is now, and learning how to rebound from there is a process that he's still going through. Well, the last two games I thought he looked really good on the boards, so he’s coming along nicely. 4. Spaces the court. His shooting percentages have gotten better each month and that improvement should continue as he gets more and more comfortable. It also isn’t an easy thing to shoot with zero rhythm, so it’d be unfair to compare his percentages with someone who gets more consistent looks. The most important thing to me is that he doesn’t hesitate and stays balanced through his shot. I think he does both, so there’s optimism there that he hasn’t hit his ceiling yet. 5. Intangibles. Not afraid of anybody. He gets outmuscled a lot, but he’s not afraid to throw his body around anyway. Everyone in the nba is talented but not everyone has it upstairs. Zach does. Once Zach's body and role catches up with his skillset, mentality, and athleticism, he’s going to be a big time player. Right now we only have flashes, but the bang is nearrrr.
Where do you get Swanigan being three years older/three years more experienced? He's seven months older than Collins (both currently 20) with one more year of college experience. A year ago, Swanigan was a young sophomore in college and Collins was an old freshman. That's the extent of the age difference. BNM
I'm not all that high on him. Need to see more flashes, but he's not a complete disappointment. He's long, he runs well, has good hands, and a quick release on his jumper (unlike Meyers who takes 4 seconds to wind up and let go). His court awareness on both ends is already better than half our scrubs (Meyers/Jake/disengaged Moe, etc). What i mean by that is that he knows when to shoot, when to pass, and where to be on defense. He also makes the right reads on passes and stays within his lane and doesn't look scared. Still wish he were further along when I see guys like Kuzma, John Collins, and Mitchell, but the tools are clearly there. I'm dubious about our coaching and its ability to develop big men, but he's alright. I project him as an above average big man when he's ready to go, which is OK for a 10th pick I suppose.
If only there was such a thing as coaches that specialized in developing big men. I'm sure if such coaches existed, Paul Allen and his crack staff of Vulcans would have hired the best money can buy years ago. Such a coach could have helped Meyers Leonard and Noah Vonleh (still could) and could help Caleb Swanigan, Zach Collins and Jusuf Nurkic reach their full potential. Gosh darn it, if only such coaches existed... BNM
He goes to and watches most of the games. That alone is an advantage over some other posters in here. We literally have people here that don't watch games and then complain about players.
And we have some people who are refs, so they have impaired court vision when they do get to watch a game. Amirite?! Guys?!
He has good ball-handling skills (not dribbling) as has solid hands and can execute the dribble hand off without turning it over. When he has the ball at the top of the key, he's very aware of where the handoff is going to and how to get it to the dribbler.
Tell your "friend" that a lot of Collins praise derives from watching Meyers Leonard for 5 1/2 long years.
I think many are just relieved that he's NOT the next Meyers. Our expectations have been sufficiently lowered: BNM
My fault. You aRe correct. For some reason I thought Caleb was a senior. That was funny, but... That was funnier!!! Hahahahaha
I still stand by everything else I said though and the eye test says there COULD be a three year gap... in Collins fAvor. Lol
