John Collins...Our Third Star

[dirkfansince1998]

I don't think you can argue that Collins is worse defensively that the current version of Maxi...not the idealized version of Max Maxi from days gone by.  But the Maxi who has played since 3/1.  Like I said, Collins is the 6th best D-RPM among PF's this year for those who like that metric.  I will admit that there are other metrics that show him to be below average also.  

Maybe not worse when it comes to overall impact. Although overall the Mavs are still better on defense when Maxi is on the floor. Hawks are worse with Collins on the floor.
It´s about the positional need next to KP. KP has two big problems on defense. He gets bullied by more traditional bigs. He cannot defend in space. Maxi is basically a 6`10 wing. The healthy version was the Mavs best option against Kawhi last year. This year he isn´t quite as good but still the best perimeter option among Mavs bigs and clearly a better perimeter defender than Collins. He makes up for KPs lack of mobility. Including pre rotations and switches to keep KP out of the pick and roll. Melli plays a similar role on defense. Powell and WCS aren´t quick enough.

Lineup data really tells the story in this case:

KP/Kleber +86 in 524 minutes +7.9per100,
KP/Melli +5 in 41 minutes +5.7per100
KP/WCS -2 in 121 minutes -0.8per100
KP/Powell -18 in 104 minutes -8.5per100

I think Powell is a better defender than Collins and KP/Powell lineups have a horrible 126.2 D-Rating.