The Pistons need John Collins to do something he's never done

One of the biggest changes the Detroit Pistons will make next season is John Collins at the starting power forward instead of Tobias Harris, which is going to take some adjustments from everyone involved. 

Collins will offer the Pistons a completely new look, one they will have to fully take advantage of if they want to offset the loss of Harris, who was one of the team’s go-to scorers. 

John Collins replacing Tobias Harris 

There has been plenty of talk of what the addition of Collins will mean for the Pistons in terms of better 3-point shooting, which should help their spacing, which will have a ripple effect on everything else. At least that’s the idea. 

But it only works if Collins increases his 3-point volume, and if you look at his career numbers, he’s never been a high-volume guy even though he hits them at a high clip. 

Collins has never averaged more than 3.7 attempts from 3-point range per game and never knocked down more than 1.5 per game, two numbers that are going to have to increase for this offensive experiment to work for the Pistons. 

That kind of volume is similar to what they got from Harris last season, so if Collins just keeps up the status quo, his better long-range accuracy won’t really matter. 

Harris actually took more attempts per game than Collins last season, but the two made the same number of 3’s per game on average. 

The Pistons need Collins to average more like 5-6 attempts from 3-point range per game to get maximum value out of the spacing he will create. 

The good news is that those shots will be there, as Cade Cunningham creates a ton of gravity on his own, and teams have to respond to his pick-and-roll game, which should leave Collins wide open in the corner. 

He can’t hesitate to take them, as the Pistons need those attempts from him to keep the defense honest. 

If Collins doesn’t increase his 3-point volume, this trade will be a loss 

Harris is far better on the block, mid-range and post than Collins and was a guy the Pistons turned to when they needed a bucket. 

Collins isn’t going to provide that type of shot creation, so he has to shoot 3-pointers at a high rate to make up for it, as the Pistons will definitely miss the security blanket that Harris provided on offense. 

Collins is a veteran at this point, but will have an opportunity to remake himself as a volume 3-and-D guy on the Pistons, a role he should be well suited to thrive in. 

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