John Collins Will Benefit Greatly From Darius Garland Upon Return

After winning five of their last six games, the Los Angeles Clippers are back to .500 for the first time since the sixth game of the season. They have been trending up in recent weeks, despite the unexpected shakeup at the trade deadline. The most encouraging part of it is the fact that they have been doing so without John Collins.

Collins has missed seven of LA's last eight games. After suffering a fall and hurting his neck on February 20 against the Lakers, Collins missed two games before returning against the Pelicans on March 1st. His return was brief after he reaggravated his injury and has been unavailable since. The starting power forward took part in on-court activities on Monday, but is expected to be out for at least another week. In fact, he has already been ruled out for Wednesday's game against the Minnesota Timberwolves with a neck strain designation on the injury report.

John Collins-Darius Garland Duo Should Excite Clippers Fans

Upon his return, however, Collins should give the Clippers a major boost. Not only is he the only traditional power forward on the roster, but he is also an excellent fit next to Darius Garland. Collins has yet to play with Garland this season, but when he does, the duo has a chance to be highly productive.

Garland started the last two games for the Clippers and has looked as shifty as ever, beating his defenders consistently and getting to his spots at will. He has been finding his teammates for open shots and cutters for easy baskets under the rim. What he has been missing, however, is a lob threat. As a very good pick-and-roll player who can find the roll man with ease, Garland doesn't have a rim running big who can catch lobs and finish around the basket.

That will change once Collins returns. The 28-year-old power forward is one of the better dunkers in the league. He has made a living as a lob-finishing roll man and has 67 dunks for the season already, by far the the most on the team.

With Ivica Zubac no longer on the team and Yanic Konan Niederhauser out for the season, the Clippers don't have too much depth and versatility in the frontcourt. Brook Lopez will play as many minutes as he can handle at center, stretching the floor and being a pick-and-pop option. Collins, on the other hand, will be the pick-and-roll partner for Garland, finishing the looks created by the dynamic point guard.

This should benefit Collins greatly as he approaches the offseason. The athletic scorer will be a free agent over the summer, and if he puts numbers up over the final stretch of the season and the playoffs, he can make himself a good chunk of money, either from the Clippers or elsewhere.