Detroit Pistons’ John Collins Off To Inconsistent Start To Motown Tenure

For much of the offseason, the Detroit Pistons were embroiled in a lengthy contract negotiation with All-Star center Jalen Duren, one that led many in the fanbase to question whether the squad would be better off without the 22-year old big man. 

Of course, Duren and the Pistons agreed to a five-year, fully guaranteed $200 million deal just after training camp started, so the hypothetical future without JD in the Motor City is null and void. But over the last four games, the Pistons have received a brief look into what life would have been like without JD in the picture. 

At 5-1, the Pistons have still been able to win games without Duren in the low post, but Detroit has turned in some surprisingly poor rebounding performances in his absence. Pistons head coach J.B. Bickerstaff has long preached the importance of physicality and controlling the paint, and Duren’s 10.5 rebounds per game last season played a big part in the team’s ability to do so. 

At the moment, Duren still has about another week before he could return to the lineup. When the Pistons announced that he’d suffered a strained right hamstring, his initial timeline called for reevaluation in two weeks, so there’s a chance that he returns to the lineup for Detroit’s two-game series with the Washington Wizards in mid-November. 

But in the meantime, the Pistons have been biding their time with Paul Reed starting at center and John Collins at the four to help Detroit establish their presence in the paint. So far, B-Ball Paul has embraced his newfound starting role with 13.8 points and seven rebounds per game, but the big man turned in a four-board effort against the Brooklyn Nets that he admitted did not meet his standards. 

Sliding down to the power forward spot, Collins has had a bit of an inconsistent string of performances in the regular season to begin his Detroit tenure. Though Collins is averaging 9.2 points and 7.2 rebounds each night, his efforts have topped out with a 23-point showing against the Miami Heat and bottomed out recently with a combined 10 points in his last three games. 

At times, Collins has attempted to fill Duren’s shoes in the pick-and-roll to exploit the two-man game alongside Cade Cunningham, but that’s been a fleeting concept over the past several games. On the other hand, Reed has even unveiled a perimeter shooting component to his game lately, so the squad’s big men have operated in a different stylistic fashion than the Pistons would have had with Duren in the lineup. 

Since Detroit replenished their bench during the summer by adding some key veterans in addition to rookie point guard Ebuka Okorie, the Pistons have been able to weather a multi-game storm without Duren, but it has not always looked pretty. Given how important Duren is to the team’s presence in the paint, look for Detroit to welcome the big man back into the lineup with open arms since it’s clear how important he is to the Pistons’ structure.