Milwaukee Bucks: 5 observations from first 5 games of 2021-22 season
By Dalton Sell
No. 4: Grayson Allen can be a difference-maker for the Milwaukee Bucks
Milwaukee’s biggest move of the offseason was trading for guard Grayson Allen, and as expected, he has seen a hefty workload early on.
Starting in the shooting guard slot, Allen is playing the most playing time in his NBA career with 28.8 minutes per contest. With that increased role, Allen has been averaging new career-bests in several statistical categories, including points, rebounds, and steals. The 25-year-old has been a solid fit early on, but there is still room for him to improve. That improvement starts with his shot from the perimeter, where he has struggled to find a groove this season.
As it stands, Allen is shooting the most triples on average for the Bucks with 8.6 per contest. That translates to 43 total attempts in five games, which is tied for the third-most in the entire league. Allen has been getting more looks from 3-point range than ever before, but unfortunately, he has struggled to knock them down by connecting on just 32.6 percent of those tries. The toughest part to grasp about it is that plenty of these have been wide-open looks. The guard has shot a grueling 5-of-18 (27.8 percent) on wide-open 3-pointers (closest defender not within six or more feet) this season, a number that certainly hurts to look at.
While Allen has already been putting up career numbers, they would be much greater if he found a way to connect on more of these triples. Sometimes the best way to get out of a slump is to keep on shooting the basketball, and that is exactly what the team will assure him to do. With the sheer amount of attempts that he is getting per night, the guard could be a difference-maker for the Milwaukee Bucks when that shot is falling.