John Collins is already giving the Pistons a different kind of edge.
After a rough Game 1, Collins has settled in fast and looks like the piece Detroit wanted when it brought him in and moved on from Tobias Harris in the offseason. There was always some unease about letting Harris go, and that makes sense - the Pistons still need players who can create their own shot, and Harris has long been reliable in that role.
Still, Collins has quickly started to change the conversation.
What he’s bringing is not just production, but a different shape to the offense. He’s giving Detroit more athleticism, more shooting, and a look that’s harder to defend.
Through the young season, Collins is averaging 15 points, seven rebounds and a block per game. Harris, meanwhile, is doing what Harris always does: 13 points and 5 rebounds on steady shooting splits.
The real difference is how they get there.
Collins is doing exactly what I hoped he’d do, which is shoot nearly five 3-point attempts per game, something he has yet to do in his career. That matters because the Pistons as a team are taking more of them, and they badly needed that kind of volume.
So far, Collins has knocked down 50 percent of his threes. Harris, shooting about three per game, is hitting right around league average like he always does. Collins isn’t going to live at 50 percent, but he’s clearly the more dangerous perimeter threat in that spot.
He also changes the spacing in a way Harris didn’t. Collins makes it possible for Detroit to put four shooters around Cade Cunningham, which the Pistons did for much of the night against an Embiid-less Philly team. Harris often occupied the same areas on the floor as Cunningham, but Collins gives the offense more room to breathe.
That extra space showed up last night. With shooters spread around the arc, Cunningham had a much easier time attacking while Philadelphia had to keep an eye on everybody on the perimeter.
Defensively, the gap between Collins and Harris might be close to a wash. Collins can be a tweener against certain teams when there isn’t a clean matchup for him. But he brings more athleticism, more vertical pop and more shot-blocking than Harris ever did.
He’s also been a force on the glass. Collins chased down three offensive rebounds last night and finished with 11 overall.
Tobias Harris deserves credit for what he gave Detroit. He was a big part of getting the Pistons to this point. But right now, Collins looks like the better fit, and he’s making it awfully easy to move on.
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New York wound up winning by 14 points to pick up its first victory of the 2026-27 season, leaving Detroit to sort through another night without much to show for it. Danhausens presence is a reminder of how the Knicks playoff run continues to linger in odd places, even if the connection didnt come with a ring the first time around. [Read more 🡒]