As good as Tobias Harris\u00a0was at\u00a0getting his own shot, he was always on the block or in the paint, which\u00a0didn\u2019t\u00a0help\u00a0the spacing issues created by playing Ausar Thompson and Jalen Duren at the same time.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Collins should help ease that congestion, but what about his defense? Will he be able to hold up in the same\u00a0way\u00a0as Tobias Harris?\u00a0<\/p>\n
John Collins\u00a0has to\u00a0be more engaged\u00a0<\/p>\n
Tobias Harris is not a great defender by any means, but\u00a0he\u2019s\u00a0a high-IQ player who was always in the right spot, which helped make up for his lack of verticality.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Collins is certainly the more athletic of the\u00a0two and\u00a0adds an element of shot blocking that Harris doesn\u2019t, but one of the biggest knocks against Collins has always been that he\u2019s not a smart team defender, the exact thing that was a strength for Harris.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Collins has been accused of ball watching, missing rotations and losing his man on screens, which are things\u00a0he\u2019ll\u00a0have to navigate much better.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He\u2019ll\u00a0be helped\u00a0by the fact that\u00a0he\u2019ll\u00a0be playing next to the best perimeter defender on planet Earth (or any other planet), as Ausar Thompson helps erase a lot of mistakes. But Collins\u00a0has to\u00a0be more locked in, and have quicker rotations and\u00a0switches, as Harris was an active and vocal member of the defense.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Size differences and switches\u00a0<\/p>\n
Collins is also a tweener who can have\u00a0a difficult time\u00a0with bigger power forwards and centers that like to post up. Luckily, there\u00a0aren\u2019t\u00a0many of those left in the NBA, but Collins will have to do a better job of not getting backed down, as this was another area in which Harris excelled.\u00a0Tobias Harris may not have the hops, but he’s strong and not easy to push around.<\/p>\n
Collins will also have to play quicker wings at times, which was an area where Harris struggled, so this can be an upgrade for the Pistons when they go big and use Collins more as a wing.\u00a0<\/p>\n
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