Zach Collins

[willandi]

Opening night against the Lakers in a Trailblazers win, Zach came up 1 shy of 4 of a kind.

He had 6 points, 6 rebounds, 6 blocks, but only 5 fouls in 24 minutes. 3-4 shooting too.

[azzagfan]

Leads the NBA in blocks if only for a day.

[Jstock12]

Leads the NBA in blocks if only for a day.

Zach is averaging 8.3 blocks per 36! :P

[Radbooks]

Here's a nice video from NBC Sports NW about how well Zach is doing so far this year

https://www.nbcsports.com/northwest/...ed-role-season

[Martin Centre Mad Man]

From the Ringer.

https://www.theringer.com/nba/2018/1...damian-lillard

Second-year center Zach Collins has given the Blazers sensational minutes off the bench behind Nurkic, opening eyes as the sort of futuristic 7-footer every team’s looking for. He’s shooting 22-for-31 inside the 3-point arc and 6-for-12 beyond it, while holding up as a defender in space and backtracking to protect the rim, nearly tripling his block rate from a year ago. Through the season’s first two weeks, the Blazers have performed significantly better with Collins on the floor than off it, especially on the defensive end; his marriage of defensive mobility and increasing offensive polish might make him Terry Stotts’s ideal antidote to the Pelicans’ fast-moving frontcourt.

[bartruff1]

Now...if Zack was still at Gonzaga......I don't want to think about it....he definitely did the right thing ….

[Jstock12]

https://twitter.com/NylonCalculus/st...39759715504128

[Martin Centre Mad Man]

More praise from the Ringer staff

Zach Collins, Trail Blazers

You know a team really loves a player when it trades up for him. That’s what the Jazz did to nab Donovan Mitchell, and what the Blazers did by dealing no. 15 (Justin Jackson) and no. 20 (Harry Giles) to the Kings for no. 10 to select Zach Collins. Mitchell and the Jazz understandably received all the praise last season for their proactiveness. The Blazers front office deserves credit too. Collins is one of the NBA’s best young big men at defending in space.

Collins stays seated in his stance, moves his feet to mirror the opponent, and contests every shot. It’s rare for such a young player (Collins turns 21 this season) to display such advanced fundamentals and quickness moving laterally, never mind one who is 7 feet.

Damian Lillard said recently that Collins has Defensive Player of the Year potential, and the path is there for him, especially if defensive analytics improve in the public forum. Collins can block shots, but his game is more predicated on positioning—like past winners Joakim Noah and Marc Gasol. Maybe we will enter an age where advanced analytics can grade the process (shot alterations, shots prevented) rather than solely relying on results-based stats like blocks and steals. Nonetheless, unlike some players, Collins clearly enjoys playing defense—sometimes too much.

Collins plays only 21.4 minutes per game, partially because of the bad fouling habits he’s still trying to break. At Gonzaga, he’d attempt to block shots or reach instead of relying on his good positioning to make stops. He’s gotten better at that. You’ll see Collins stick his arms straight up to contest a shot rather than swiping at the ball. But he still has a ways to go, like most young bigs. Collins gets called for 5.1 fouls per 36 minutes, one of the worst rates among the 236 players to log at least 200 minutes. It’s one thing to produce in limited minutes; the big step is doing it for heavy minutes every single night.

If Collins improves his discipline to match his fundamentals by the end of the season, he could start and finish over center Jusuf Nurkic, who logs 24.9 minutes per game. While Nurkic is a stronger rebounder and interior scorer, Collins can defend the perimeter, protect the rim, and shoot 3s—all more valuable skills for today’s pace-and-space style. It’s only a matter of time until Collins, despite his youth, becomes the primary enforcer Portland needs.

https://www.theringer.com/nba/2018/1...class-progress

[sittingon50]

Thanks MCMM. Nice article.

[Radbooks]

From the SR tonight:

Gonzaga pride always apparent with Trail Blazers forward Zach Collins

DALLAS – Even though it’s only early December, Zach Collins admits there’s something special about seeing Gonzaga ranked No. 1.

“Before the season, I kept hearing that they were going to be really good,” Collins, who is in his second NBA season with Portland, said before a recent road game in Dallas. “Obviously, preseason they were ranked pretty high. I expected them to play well, but to be No. 1 and to beat the teams that they’ve beaten so far is pretty impressive.”

[bartruff1]

Zack, we hardly knew ye..

[Zagdawg]

Enes Kanter signs with Trail Blazers -- added some experience to help develop Zach.

http://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/2...-trail-blazers

[LTownZag]

Zach got into some emotional plays last night is a win over the Lakers. Worth a google or two...

[Spike#1]

Regarding Zach in last nights win over Golden State:

https://www.yahoo.com/sports/skip-ba...070134988.html

[ZagNut08]

Likely not good for ZC that blazers signed Enes Kanter