It's fair to say that John Collins didn't have the best season possible. His defense was bad, he didn't fit in and while his shot was solid all year, he wasn't so impressive that he led the Utah Jazz to many victories. Despite this, we have guys who are supposed to be seen as credible making some wild and bold claims.
Paul Pierce, who shouldn't ever be quoted by NBA pundits if they're trying to prove a point, made a bold claim recently on the All the Smoke, where he said that any player in the NBA averaging at least 15 points is "killing it" as a player.
Maybe when Pierce started, as there were only 37 players in the NBA during the 1998-1999 season to score at least 15 points per game. In 2024, that number has nearly doubled and is at 73 now. It's far easier to score in the modern NBA than it was during Pierce's time.
What does a player need to do to be considered “killing” in the NBA?
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The reason why the flippant and nonsensical statement came across our desk was because Pierce mentioned that Collins was among those "killing it" in the NBA. He was 73rd in scoring for the 2023-2024 season, so maybe that's something, but even then, according to Pierce, Collins didn't have a big sample size.
You know, because 68 games isn't a lot. Even though most of the guys ahead of him, if they played more, only played a handful of games more.
Clearly, Pierce is just talking nonsense and is saying all sorts of wild things for impression and views. Listen, that can work for a time but eventually, no one is going to take you seriously. And no one should take Pierce seriously for saying something like Collins having a "killer" season.
Collins is possibly about to be traded because he didn't have a good season, so it'd be nice if these former greats would stop worrying about views and worry more about accuracy.