JOHN Collins

Collins' 2025-26 line with the Clippers reads as a clean efficiency profile. He averaged 13.6 points, 5.3 rebounds, 1.0 assists, 0.9 steals and 0.7 blocks in 27.1 minutes. He shot 55.2 percent from the field, 40.6 percent from three and 76.6 percent from the line, good for a 64.3 true shooting percentage. Those are big-man finishing numbers paired with a real three-point shot. His plus-minus was -0.6 for the season, so the Clippers were roughly even with him on the floor. The assist number is low, and that is the honest part of the profile. Collins is not a playmaker. He scores on the catch, on rolls and on spot-ups, and he keeps the ball moving instead of holding it. For a Pistons team that needs frontcourt shooting, the 40.6 percent from deep last season is the number that matters most.

Collins has played five games for Detroit so far. He opened on Oct. 5 against Phoenix with 10 points and 3 rebounds in 16.7 minutes in a win. On Oct. 10 against Washington he had 2 points and 2 rebounds in 17.4 minutes in a loss. The last three have all been Pistons wins. He put up 11 points and 3 rebounds in 20.4 minutes against Minnesota on Oct. 14 with a plus-minus of +15.0. On Oct. 16 against Toronto he had 12 points and 8 rebounds in 22.4 minutes at +9.0. On Oct. 20 against Boston he had 6 points, 5 rebounds and 1 assist in 25.4 minutes at -13.0, though Detroit still won. His minutes have climbed each game since the Washington loss, which suggests the staff is trusting him more as the rotation settles.

The early minutes tell the story. Collins started around 16.7 and 17.4 minutes in the first two games and has been above 20 in each of the last three. He has not registered an assist in four of the five games, which tracks with his 1.0 assists per game last season. The rebounding has been uneven, from 2 against Washington to 8 against Toronto. The scoring sits in the single digits or low double digits, which is where a low-usage big should land. The best version of him showed up against Minnesota and Toronto, when he scored in double figures and the Pistons were clearly better with him on the floor. The Boston game is the counterpoint, with a -13.0 in his longest outing of the season. Detroit won anyway.

Collins' last games with the Clippers in April show both ends of his range. On April 5 against Sacramento he scored 25 points with 4 rebounds in 23.9 minutes at +15.0 in a win. Two days later against Dallas he had 12 points and 7 rebounds in 27.9 minutes in another win. On April 8 against Oklahoma City he posted 12 points, 9 rebounds and 3 assists in 27.4 minutes in a loss. On April 10 against Portland he went scoreless with 2 rebounds in 13.3 minutes in a loss at -18.0. He closed on April 12 against Golden State with 18 points and 9 rebounds in 20.7 minutes in a win. The swings are real, but the shooting efficiency held up across the season, and that is why Detroit wanted him.

There is nothing to report on the health front. Collins is not on the injury report and has no injury history on file for the Pistons. That matters for a 29-year-old big who has to bang inside and run the floor. With no rumors attached to his name, the questions are all about basketball. Can he get back to the 40.6 percent three-point shooting he had last season with the Clippers? Can he turn more of those 20-plus minute nights into the Minnesota and Toronto type of outing instead of the Boston one? And will the minutes keep rising from the 25.4 he played against the Celtics? Detroit has won three straight, and Collins is a piece of that, even on nights his own numbers are quiet.