Really solves a lot of the Spurs positional fit problems. Bolsters the bench too. Bring MCD off the bench to exploit the 2nd string but you still have the spacing in the starting 5 with Zollins hopefully replacing MCD's range accuracy.
The agility and rim protection potentially from Zollins makes Zollins/Poeltl an interesting pairing defensively.
One of Jock or Poeltl in at all times seems to secure the mins at the 5 better and the addition of Zollins slotting likely at the 4 might be just enough size to hide the current vulnerability.
he can't shoot. Other than that he's an NBA player. If he had a 3-point shot he would take KBDs spot
Zollins playing with Keldon will be a lot of yelling tbh
Nope. KBD is a more versatile defender, and is shooting 34% from long, right now. The three ball would get him on the 15 man roster, though. He be an energizer in games when we get worked on the boards.
Ca definitely looked pretty good at times. I don't think he's shown nearly enough to be considered the prospect KBD is right now, but there's definitely athletic potential there.
Agreed. I'm not sure he can switch onto guards like KBD, and KBD is shooting 34% from 3 in the NBA. There's some potential there for a deep bench slot.
What a win to cut Metu and pick up KBD. They were picked with consecutive second round picks, KBD first. I guess that's how quickly talent can drop off in a draft.
Talent in the draft, especially in the second round is all over the place. I don’t think this a matter of how quickly talent can drop off. Also their careers are pretty comparable across the board:
https://www.basketball-reference.com.../NBA_2018.html
That lineup is untenable in today's NBA. This notion of Collins being able to credibly play the four needs to die.
Do you say that because of his injury history affecting his prior mobility or because you don’t believe he had enough mobility and/or 3 point shooting in the first place? If it’s the latter, I think there’s room for a surprise. It seems the four was what most Blazers fans had envisioned for him before he went down again with an injury.
He can play the 4 & 5……..wise up TD 21
He seems to not have lost any mobility. I like him playing the 5, since he‘s a good rim protector, but he‘s definitely mobile enough to play the 4 and stay in front of guards
All of the above, plus his lack of handle. Fours are now oversized threes, save for unicorn style bigs who can get be playing alongside a complementary sort (usually a rim runner who can cross match) for stretches. He's neither.
That was a few years ago and out of necessity given that Nurkic was their third best player and they lacked the assets/financial flexibility to replace Aminu.
Not sure why there is this debate of whether he will play the 4 or 5. The NBA is more positionless than ever.
, even Timmy is known as the greatest power forward ever even though he spent a lot of time playing center.
There are certain guys that fit the "center only" stereotype like Eubanks, but I think Collins' skillset should allow him to be PF/C combo as long as his foot doesn't try to fall off again.
Not in this sense though. That's more so for moving up the positional spectrum as opposed to down.
Given the lack of a surefire backup four and size at the position in general, it's not impossible we might occasionally see him alongside Landale in certain matchups. It'll just be a function of roster construction and not his being able to credibly play it.
The NBA isn't really more positionless than it was before. It's more that smaller scoring guards are now unambiguously SGs instead of PGs that need a guy like Manu to work, and everyone else has been pushed up a position to compensate, ultimately removing the distinction between non-combo-forward PFs and centers. So PGs still exist and are usually 6-4 and under. SGs are now anywhere from 6-5 to 6-3, SFs are between 6-7 and 6-5, PFs between 6-9 and 6-6 and centers are 6-9 and up. A seven-footer at PF only works if that player can win the matchup with his counterpart. That's either due to the larger guy helping the defense or taking advantage of the smaller player on offense. Back in the day, that's how it worked, and small-ball PFs were relatively rare because they couldn't be expected to guard bigs. Now, they don't have to guard them due both to the rule changes that make aggressive inside play harder to pull off without getting fouls and the smaller forwards being able to win with three-point shooting.
Collins has never been a good NBA player. I hope that changes, but folks are kidding themselves when they try to pretend otherwise. Nothing about him offensively is going to make him win his match-up, so he's going to have to be able to defend modern PFs in their environment to have any chance. If you look at Collins' best year (18/19), you'll see that he barely played PF and only did so with Meyers Leonard, who is basically a combo-big himself. It's like how Ca and Landale played together. Replacing McDermott with Collins would likely be a major disaster for the offense.
Yep, Collins is going to have Zero input on who we select in this years draft. I hope he comes in though hungry can stay healthy and give us a good bench player sixth or eighth kinda guy
I would like Collins at the 4...but that means Keldon or McBuckets to the bench which is just about all of our 3 point shooting in a starting lineup. I assume he starts getting some spot minutes at the 5 and then Pop takes it from there...
i'm not hoping that collins is better than mcbuckets. i'm hoping that he's better than eubanks.
I could see that……
None of McLovin, Keldon or Zollins are starting 4 material. They should at most be playing the 4 only situationally and ideally
in a backup capacity.
depends on the matchup. Last night Keldon wasn’t overpowered by OKC’s small line up. Other times, against a bigger athletic guys, KBD could start. KBD is actually becoming durable, can defend 1-4 or even 5. Let’s see how much mobility does Zollins on those legs. It would be great to have a mobile big who can shoot if ever
Saying the current NBA is "positionless" is the great modern day cliche of basketball analysis... it's not. A bunch of players are capable of sliding up or down one position, and a couple-- Giannis and Lebron-- can potentially play all five positions, but outside of that most players are relatively locked into their roles on teams. No one is starting Gobert at PG or Bryn Forbes at PF, and it's not like teams from the past haven't successfully experimented with positional adjustments before. The 1996 Bulls were the most successful team in history and started two SGs while relying on their SF to act as de facto PG on most offensive sets, but they had a traditional center and traditional (though slightly undersized) PF. The 2016 Warriors had a very traditional PG, a traditional SG, and a very traditional C. They had guys like Draymond and Iguodala who were versatile and could slide up or down a position, but overall were still adhering as a team to traditional roles. Last year's champs the Bucks had one guy who could pretty much play any position, a very strong combo guard in Jrue, and a swing player in Middleton who could occasionally slide up to PF, but most of the rest of the team slotted pretty traditionally into recognizable positions.
The main thing Collins should provide is solid rim protection off the bench. I think a Collins/Landale front court coming off the bench could work
That may be optimistic. By the stats, Eubanks is a significantly better shot blocker than Zollins. But we shall see.
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