When Isaiah Collier started his NBA career with the Utah Jazz, he came in projected as a potential draft steal. With time, Collier proved himself good enough to become the Jazz's starting point guard. However there's one flaw to his game that holds him back: his ineffective jumper.
Collier's stock fell in last year's draft in part because, outside of his ability to drive to the hole and his playmaking abilities, he can't space the floor. His positives and negatives both translated into the NBA. He didn't exactly help his case as a shooter in the Summer League, as he shot 41.2% from the field and 31.3% from three.
Sam Vecenie discussed this on "The Game Theory Podcast," where he highlighted the good in Collier's game, but also talked about how his problems as a shooter limit him as a player.
"Isaiah Collier just felt like much of the same to me, which is totally fine," Vecenie said. "That is an NBA player, I think. When I watch Isaiah Collier, I think of his ability to get paint touches is very real. He can really pass the ball. It is a genuine skillset that he brings to the table that I think will grow and continue to improve throughout the corse of the next couple of years.
"It's always just going to be how is he going to score the ball? He doesn't elevate super high off the ground, he doesn't really have much of an in-between game, definitely doesn't shoot it right now... it doesn't matter that much in terms of his upside as starting point guard if he can't score the ball, and that's my worry with him right now."
Some players in due time are able to develop a dependable jumper even after a shaky start to their NBA career, but that doesn't make it a given that they will. Collier is a pretty bad shooter period, which isn't exactly a welcome sight as he's also undersized.
He has shown that he is a capable NBA player, but if the Jazz don't see much improvement from his jumper, he may not be long for the starting lineup before someone like Walter Clayton Jr. or Cody Williams takes his spot.
Collier knows this because he took a slumping sophomore's spot
Collier didn't start the season as their starting point guard. In fact, there were some growing pains, but he showed some progress over time. So much so that the Jazz gave him the keys to being their point guard over Keyonte George.
They did this because George was not taking the steps the Jazz thought he would last season. After he showed promise in his rookie season, he didn't capitalize on that, and now there are a lot of questions about him going forward.
If Collier has a similar performance next season, it may not be long before he's in the same spot George is in. The difference between the two is that George struggled with inconsistency overall while Collier struggled with shooting. If the jumper looks better this coming season, he's got nothing to worry about, but if it doesn't, that could be a real concern.