One of the reasons the Detroit Pistons chased Tobias Harris was his reliability, as he’s been one of the most consistent players in the league in his career, and they wanted to add stability to a young team that needed it.
Not only can you pencil him in for around 15 points per game, but he has also been reliably available, playing at least 61 games every season since 2013.Â
Last year’s 63 games were actually low for Harris, as he had played 70 or more in five of the previous six seasons. He appeared in 136 games in two seasons for the Pistons and was their security blanket on offense, as well as a guy they knew they could rely on to be in the lineup from night to night.Â
The Pistons had good health overall last season, with the entire starting five appearing in at least 63 games, and they will need that kind of durability again next year from Harris’ replacement.Â
John Collins has to stay healthyÂ
Collins appeared in 69 games last season, so enjoyed a relatively healthy year, playing more games than the ultra-reliable Harris.Â
But he played just 40 the season before, so he appeared in just 109 games over the last two seasons, while Harris played 136 for the Pistons.Â
This has been a part of Collins’ career arc, as he played fewer than 60 games three times in his career, twice for the Hawks and once two seasons ago for the Jazz. Collins has never played more than the 74 games he played in his rookie season and has only topped the 70-game mark once since, when he played 71 games for Atlanta in 2022-23.Â
Collins has had some monster seasons statistically, but in three of them, he only played 41, 54, and 40 games. The Pistons don’t need Collins to put up the 21/10 stat line of his peak (though it would be nice), but they do need him to play a lot of games.Â
There has been a lot of talk about his 3-point shooting, but Collins’ most important ability may go back to the old cliche, as availability is going to be crucial.Â
The Pistons are deeper but that can change quicklyÂ
The Pistons do have slightly more depth at power forward with Taurean Prince on board, but he’s not a guy they want to rely on for heavy minutes.Â
Ron Holland II is still proving himself and is more of a wing anyway, and the Pistons do have Javonte Green they can use in that spot in a pinch.Â
But those aren’t three players the Pistons want to count on at power forward except for spot bench minutes, so Collins absolutely needs to stay healthy or one of those three will be pushed to the starting five.Â
The Pistons’ depth chart is still short on talent at the power forward, something they will eventually have to address, though it’s proven to be one of the most difficult upgrades to find.Â
Collins and Harris are nearly a wash statistically, so the most important number will end up being games played for Detroit’s new power forward.Â
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