Tremendous Upside
Well-Known Member
Sooo.... John Collins. Predictably, he's looked good in preseason when he's been in his extremely narrow comfort zone (diving to the rim, catching alley oops) and meh/bad when doing other things (handling the ball, staying active when the play's not for him, defending).
The fit is still iffy, but IMO there's something interesting going on. I used to think there's no way Collins and Kessler can co-exist in the same lineup, but lately I've been less sure about that. Kessler is something of an underrated passer for a young big, and unless he's within dunk/layup distance of the rim, his first instinct is to look for open teammates (which is not always ideal, but I digress). That's a trait Collins should be able to take advantage of.
I don't see as much chemistry potential between Collins and Lauri. Both are strictly play finishers who like to go hard to the basket and need space. Whenever they share the court, one of them always ends up standing in the weakside corner (which is a spot we rarely use effectively). To start the season, I'd pair Lauri with Olynyk, the best passer on the team, as much as possible, and see what Collins and Kessler can do together.
The fit is still iffy, but IMO there's something interesting going on. I used to think there's no way Collins and Kessler can co-exist in the same lineup, but lately I've been less sure about that. Kessler is something of an underrated passer for a young big, and unless he's within dunk/layup distance of the rim, his first instinct is to look for open teammates (which is not always ideal, but I digress). That's a trait Collins should be able to take advantage of.
I don't see as much chemistry potential between Collins and Lauri. Both are strictly play finishers who like to go hard to the basket and need space. Whenever they share the court, one of them always ends up standing in the weakside corner (which is a spot we rarely use effectively). To start the season, I'd pair Lauri with Olynyk, the best passer on the team, as much as possible, and see what Collins and Kessler can do together.
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