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Summer between rookie and second year NBA seasons is usually a critical period for young players, especially those who are already graduates.
It took a few weeks for Zach Collins for head coach Jim Moran to notice the difference in size, "The only reason I knew he was gaining weight this season," This is because I have not seen him wear sleeves all summer. "The days of Zach Collins in the heats are over, it will be the gun show now," said Moran with a smile after the win in Las Vegas.
Much has been said about this offseason. with the great man of Blazers, Zach Collins, who becomes a real "big" man.
At first glance, it's hard not to notice that Collins spends his summer in the weight room. The 20-year-old has put about 20 pounds since he started his rookie season.
"He worked very hard this summer, I think he's still growing up, continuing to learn our system.He found his marks, where he's going to get his shots and I think he's doing a very good job on the defensive, especially with these changes, "said Moran
in 66 games played last season, Collins averaged 15.8 minutes per game. game mainly at the front power position. He averaged 4.4 points and 3.3 rebounds for the season.
Ed Davis, Collins and Blazer's backup center, became an inseparable duo on and off the field. Last year, Collins played most of the four alongside Davis, where he was more of a ground type player. Blazers general manager Neil Olshey has already said that they plan to use Collins as a basketball return guy next season.
A guy who had been nicknamed "Big Skinny" by his teammates could now be Blazers' backup center.
"I am sure that there will be queues when he will have to slip," said Moran
Does Collins himself thinks that he could play at the center? "It's the goal of being able to be four and five and keep the defense on the feet, a little messy with their confrontations a bit."
But do not think for a second that Collins is even close to He worked on his body for the summer.
"I have the size, now I just need the weight," Collins said.
For Collins, entering and having a bigger impact in his second season was on his
"I still want to prepare myself to play a major role Last year, I had the chance to have a very good role as a rookie in a playoff team and I can only hope that it will grow.
Ben Golliver, an analyst at Sports Illustrated, was impressed by Collins' transformation by watching him play at the Summer League. "What I notice, it's boastfulness, he has a kind of little walk … oh, I'm" When he plays basketball confident, his skill takes over, he's always been a skier . I think that's why he was a high school rookie and why he was able to make one because he possessed that level of skill. " , said Golliver
. player, but for a player who is trying to figure out he can adapt to position four or five, he was one of the most discussed topics around Collins this offseaon, especially with the departure of Ed Davis.
For Golliver, with Collins adding more muscle, it's not just about staying at the forefront of the offensive and not being harassed, but becoming that guy who can end up to be the bully. 19659002] "Defensively, it is there that I really saw an improvement with him because he looked lost and passed last year … Now he he really has a presence of paint, he uses his length to block the blows, and just active hands too. " Golliver said.
During the regular season last year, Collins averaged 0.5 blocks per contest, but in the summer league this year, he made average 3.3 blocks. Yes, it's just the summer league, but it's easy to see that Collins could become more blocker next season. Having a double shot of Jusuf Nurkic, with Collins coming from Nurk on the bench could be a real possibility.
But before anyone gets too big a picture at this point in July, Collins makes sure to focus on Summer League.
"We arrived with a goal to win everything, so now we are only two games to do that."
Portland will play in the semifinal Monday night with a breakdown of 19:30. vs Memphis.
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