Hoopinion: 2010-11 Season Review: Jason Collins

[Hawksquawk]

Previously: Jamal Crawford, Joe Johnson, Josh Smith, Al Horford, Rick Sund, Larry Drew

Everyone deserves credit. Jason Collins deserves credit for getting into shape. Rick Sund deserves credit for signing him. Larry Drew deserves credit for using him almost exclusively in situations appropriate to his specific skill. Josh Smith and Al Horford deserve credit for playing good defense alongside Collins at their secondary defensive positions. The fates deserve credit for delivering the Orlando Magic as Atlanta'a opponent in the first round of the playoffs.

The Hawks allowed more than 11 fewer points per 100 possessions with Collins on the court during both the regular season and the playoffs. Quite simply, without the 593 regular season minutes Collins played and the 103 minutes he spent defending Dwight Howard in the first round of the playoffs, the 2011-12 Atlanta Hawks season, by the organization's recent standard of competence, would have been an abject failure.

I didn't see it coming. Nor was there a single thing about the season I enjoyed more than the success the team enjoyed when Collins was on the court.

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