The Los Angeles Clippers made some key additions during the 2025 offseason, but not all of them have worked out. The biggest star added was Bradley Beal, who played just six games before going down with a season-ending hip injury. Chris Paul was infamously dismissed from the team in the middle of the night, leaving two other key additions.

Brook Lopez has been very on and off for the Clippers, having cooled down significantly since Ivica Zubac returned to the lineup. The other addition was John Collins, who has been starting to get back into form over the past 11 games.

Ahead of Monday's contest against the Charlotte Hornets, head coach Ty Lue was asked about John Collins and his play over the last several games, as he's becoming a key contributor and third option at times.

"I think he's been great. Like I said, I give a lot of credit to Jeremy Castleberry, been working with him every single day, showing them film, getting him on the court for extra time, just showing him our defensive principles and foundation, and he's gotten a lot better defensively," Lue said.

Castleberry joined the Los Angeles Clippers' staff under Doc Rivers in 2019, but was retained when Lue took over. With previous stops under Nick Nurse and Gregg Popovich, he's been able to learn under some of the best to coach the game.

In terms of Collins' defense, he's been causing havoc for opponents as of late. Over the last 11 games, he's averaging 1.7 blocks and 1.2 steals per game, getting in the way of his opponents nearly three times per game.

"Offensively, we knew he could shoot the basketball. Just took some time for him to get comfortable. Offensive rebounds, put-backs around the rim, posting smaller guys in transition, but now shooting the three the way he has over the last 11-12 games has been huge for him," he added.

Looking at Collins' shooting, he's shooting 68% from the field and 63.4% from three over the same 11-game stretch, coming off a strong performance against the Pistons, where he made 5-of-8 attempts from three.

While Collins is certainly playing well now, it's not like this is completely unexpected. Last season with the Utah Jazz, he averaged 19 points per game on 52.7% field-goal shooting and 39.9% shooting from three-point range.

The Clippers remain well in the mix to get into the play-in tournament mix, and a win against the Hornets on Monday night will go a long way.