Milwaukee Bucks: Grayson Allen looks comfortable despite early struggles

Among the many new faces that the Milwaukee Bucks brought in this past offseason, it seemed clear that Grayson Allen was the one fans were most excited to see.

He has played a key role for the injury-riddled Bucks throughout these first two regular season games of the 2021-22 season, putting up solid numbers. He is averaging 12 points, 3.5 rebounds, 3.5 assists, and one steal in 28 minutes per game, all of which are career-highs for the fourth-year guard. Two games is certainly a small sample size to judge a player, especially one that is trying to find his footing with a new franchise, but it looks like the transition has been seamless for Allen to this point. As comfortable as he has looked, there is still room for Allen to grow, and it starts with his shooting.

A massive factor in the Bucks trading for Allen was his lethal outside shooting. The guard had shot 38.1 percent from behind the arc on 4.1 attempts per game throughout the first three years of his career, and this team could use that. Once again, it is a small sample size, but Allen has received a much bigger workload with the Bucks as he has shot an average of nine triples throughout his first two games in Milwaukee. Unfortunately, Allen has struggled to see the ball fall through the net as he has connected on just 27.8 percent (5-of-18) of these shots.

Grayson Allen is getting no shortage of open looks with the Milwaukee Bucks, but he is struggling to knock them down

According to NBA.com/stats, Allen is shooting just 4-of-12 (33.3 percent) on triples where the closest defender is not within six feet. The guard is getting great looks at the basket, but he just cannot knock down his shots, for whatever reason. Although it would have been nice to see Allen hit some of these shots, it is welcoming to see him get a dozen open attempts during these first two games, as they will have to start falling at some point for a shooter of his caliber.

Playing alongside Giannis Antetokounmpo, Khris Middleton, and Jrue Holiday in the starting five has created no shortage of open looks for Allen. He seems to be developing early chemistry with Antetokounmpo, who has passed the ball to him 19 times thus far, with the next closest being Middleton with seven. Bucks fans will remember how there were early signs of a connection with Antetokounmpo and sharpshooter Bryn Forbes last season. Forbes came in with a knack for the 3-point shot,  which allowed him to be a reliable threat out on the perimeter for Antetokounmpo at all times. After Forbes left in free agency, the Bucks seemingly hoped that Allen could fill that role as Antetokounmpo’s kick-out threat, and he looks to be fitting the bill early.

The opportunities are there for Allen, he just has failed to find a groove to this point. Given how the Bucks emphasize the 3-point shot, Antetokounmpo, Middleton, coach Budenholzer, and the rest of the team will continue telling him to let it fly without hesitation. Allen seems to understand that his role will revolve around hitting that shot, and although he likely will not shoot nine triples on a nightly basis, he will likely set a new career-high in 3-pointers attempted this year. Once the guard finds a groove, he will be lethal for this team.

Keep an eye on Allen as he looks to hit some triples in a matchup with the San Antonio Spurs tonight.