For me it's not that I think he can't play the 5. I think he'd be fine there eventually. I'm more of a fan of a traditional type lineup. The reason I'm pretty high on Zach is because I think he fits both in a traditional lineup and a more modern lineup. His versatility makes us both right. However I don't feel like in today's game you have to pigeon hole positions. If all our bigs could post up, create offense out of the high post, and hit jumpers out of the pick and pop then we'd be in good shape offensively. To be able to play the PF defensively I look for several traits including how well he defends when switched to a guard, off ball rotations, knowing when to help, and lateral quickness. Zach displays all of these characteristics at times on both offense and defense so if he'd be fine at either position I'd rather him play the PF with Nurk at C who is also an elite defender.
Well, he's got 4 out of 5 guys right. Simons is going to have to set the world on fire in camp in order to earn PT anywhere except in the G Leagues (G League and Garbage Time).
That's not even close to being true.... Tillie barely played that year. Johnathan Williams and Przemek Karnowski were seeing a ton of minutes. Tillie was the 4th big.
He looked like Rudy Gobert defensively. I'd say he shined on that end. Offensively, he's not ready to be a low-post threat yet, mainly due to strength and a lack of experience against even G-League talent having the ball in that area. He needs more strength, especially in his legs. But he's still going to contribute heavily next year.
One of the things In found very interesting about the teams in the conference finals this year was they all had basically a point guard that was in the 6’4 and under range. Then they played 3 guys who were basically interchangeable from 2-4. Then they all had a guy who played the paint a 5. To break it down a bit. Celtics Rozier, Tatum, Brown, Morris(?), Horford. Cleveland, Hill, And Lebron (wow I’m struggling with the names)... Houston had CP3, Harden, Tucker, ariza and capela. GS had Curry, Klay, KD Draymond and McGee / Jordan bell. My point being the line between 2-4 in the nba has never been blurrier. There are still your more “traditional 4’s”, or whatever position, but you absolutely need “tweeners”. While you could probably do better than Aminu or Harkless the role they play of being “tweeters” is vital to a good nba team.
Collins has potential. Long after Stotts gives up on making him a shooter, when his initial contract ends, we'll have another Ed Davis, except for paying more than $4 million.
Tillie only played 5 less minutes per game and primarily played with Zach so maybe it's closer to 50%.
From watching them throughout the season I still dont believe that's true. He played a ton with Williams and some with Karnowski IIRC.
Why should Stotts give up on his shot? Have you seen Porzingas and Towns development in that area? No reason to think Zach cant follow the same curve.
Outside (i.e. 15-footers): He's no better than Davis would be, but Davis learned long ago not to try them. Inside: Coaches have him trying to swivel around before shooting, but he's no better than Davis, if the coaches had told Davis to swivel, too. Conclusion: His ceiling is Ed Davis. The bargain player Olshey dumped to let Collins develop.
Yeah he probably didn't play as much w/Tillie as I remember. Regardless, playing the 4 in the WCC is VERY different than playing the 4 in the NBA.
Scoring is like Big Tits - it gets a lot of attention. Just because he wasn't scoring doesn't mean he wasn't impacting the game. In the SL game he missed, the opponent shot over 47% from the field. In the games he played, the opponents shot well under 40%. That's not RAW, that's DOMINATION.
Great thread. A lot of good points. I agree that he is far too young to know his true potential on either side of the ball. Although I don't think he will not be as good as Ed this year, he does have a higher ceiling. I see no reason to think he will not eventually be a good pick and pop mid-range shooter. As far as which position he eventually plays.......he will no doubt play both. You need versatile bigs and he is one. He will eventually be able to play with centers like Nurk because I believe he will have a good mid range shot (Better than Aminu's) yet still quick enough to guard the perimeter.....although playing 20 feet from the basket on D does waste his rim protection talent. The bottom line we have to be able to match up with different types of offenses as the NBA continues to evolves, and we need versatile players to do so. Sometimes we need a banger and sometimes we need a quick center who can protect the rim when teams spread you out and play ISO ball (i.e Hardin at the end of the games where he carved us up at the rim.) And I agree with Mook in that I think Portland is going to run a lot of 3 guard, 2 center lineups this year....especially late in games when teams tend to trap a little more. Not all match ups will allow it, but I am excited to see how it progresses as the season goes by.
Collins play great on D in the summer league and sometimes very dominant that end. Offensive I think the mask had something to do with his shot but yes he has to continue to get stronger. But the good thing he already knows this and that he already working on that part.
I'd love to see some Curry/CJ/Baldwin/Aminu/Collins action, where Baldwin plays PG on offense, and guards the opponents best wing player on D. Has shooting and defense. edit: and passing.
You wanna back that up with some stats, or are you just pulling crap out of your ass? Collins had a better outside shot in college than Davis EVER will...
Stotts in an interview just said that Collins will play the "5 and the 4," which makes me think Nurk will come out first, and Collins will play along side Aminu for a while.
I heard the same thing. It sure sounded to me like Collins would come off the bench and be part of a Nurkic/Aminu/Collins three-big rotation.
When has Davis ever shot 31% from 3? Since when does Davis hit mid-range shots? You're trippin'. Zach's is defense is already better. BTW - "Swivel" isn't a basketball term, so I have no idea what you're talking about.
