The Pistons got an easy blowout over the Nets Friday night, but still had the chance to address a major concern regarding John Collins' defense. Collins has not been the strongest defender to start the season and had the task of slowing down Julius Randle, whose bruising play style would be a matchup nightmare for the Pistons if Collins wasn't effective against him. Fortunately, Collins held him in check and gave Detroit hope for his potential in important matchups going forward.
Collins did a great job defensively against Randle
With Collins as the primary defender on Randle, the Pistons held him to just 4-of-13 shooting for 15 total points and 5 turnovers in the game. There was some potential concern about Randle bullying his way to the rim for easy points, especially with the Pistons' continuing lack of size amidst recent injuries. But Collins stepped up and matched Randle's physicality enough to force misses and allow his teammates to make plays.
Randle also wasn't able to draw many fouls on Collins, as he only shot 4 free throws. Fouling has been a problem for the Pistons defense in the past and was a weakness of Collins' predecessor Tobias Harris in similar matchups. But Collins was able to largely avoid foul trouble in a game where his minutes were needed with few center options.
Of course, it's worth noting that Randle is playing with a terrible supporting cast in Brooklyn, so the Pistons were able to key in on him whenever he had the ball. On a playoff team with a similar bully ball threat, Collins might be left on more of an island. Still, his performance against Randle was an encouraging sign for those upcoming matchups.
The Pistons need Collins to hold up in the playoffs
The East is chock full of star power forwards who Collins will see in a deep playoff run. Jayson Tatum, LeBron James and Giannis Anteteokounmpo are some of the first names that come to mind; all three are stars capable of scoring in bunches against weak defenders. Collins may not have to guard all of them, but he does need to slow them down for stretches in order for Detroit to have playoff success.
The Pistons do have other defensive options, like Ausar Thompson or Javonte Green, to throw at big forwards. But those players either lack the size to truly match up with the best 4s or come off the bench. Collins is being paid like a starting power forward and his defense needs to reflect that.
He'll need to continue building on his defensive momentum from stopping Randle and scale it up against better matchups and better teams. If the Pistons get strong defense out of him come playoff time, they will be hard to score against.
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