Isaiah Collier
If you thought tracking incremental improvements was just for teams, think again. Jazz rookie Isaiah Collier had himself a game on Sunday, with a career-high 23 points, seven rebounds and assists, plus a block, in 37 minutes on the floor. It was Collier’s longest sustained playing time this season.
I covered Collier over his McDonald’s All-American weekend in April 2023. As a USC signee he was in the shadow of Bronny James, also in the same “McDAAG” class. Collier was quiet, polite, and a little shy off the floor, on the floor, all those traits inverted. When I’ve circled around to check on how Collier’s been doing this season I haven’t been surprised to see him taking a secondary role. Sometimes the best thing for a rookie is to have a working balance between competitive pressure and developing at their own pace. What I have been surprised by is how much Collier, up to now, has been flying under the radar.
He had a sixth-sense for the game in high school, in his knack for passing, knowing where teammates would be, and dictating the pace of the game — a rarer thing for a young athlete. It showed it again in his single season at USC. The Jazz don’t necessarily want Collier to be the one deploying these things, they have Collin Sexton, Jordan Clarkson, and Keyonte George as a backup for them, but when Collier’s been trusted by the team to handle the ball it’s paid dividends.
Where Collier shone last night was in his decision making, and fixing, when he made a rushed one. His downhill layup to push the game to overtime, and when he lost track of the shot clock in OT and lost the possession, he deftly grabbed it back and took the same downhill layup to win the game.
I’m hopeful last night’s game gets Collier more meaningful minutes. As a rookie who has no trouble toggling between explosively and patience, he’s valuable to the Jazz at both ends as much as he is fun to watch.
Detroit Pistons
The Pistons got themselves back above .500 on the weekend with a win over the Raptors, and Cade Cunningham notched himself a triple-double in the process.
It’s night and day, in some ways, watching Cunningham against the Raptors Scottie Barnes. The two were drafted within spots of each other and both immediately shot out on very different trajectories. Cade has had the tougher road within a perennially struggling and overlooked team, quietly stepping into the mantle of leader for the Pistons. Barnes arrived to a Toronto team stretched thin in its growing pains, unsure of which way it would need to go to reach its next iteration.
Barnes had vets, and they were quickly traded away; Cade had mostly himself and his young teammates. There’s an earned maturity to Cade that Barnes still struggles with.
The Pistons, despite losing Jaden Ivey when he and the team were both surging, are still looking at the postseason as a goal within their grasp. They’re only a game back from the existentially spiralling Miami Heat, and could give any of the Pacers, Magic and Bucks a run for their money in a playoff series because the Pistons know very well what it is to win one game at a time.
