The Milwaukee Bucks are now two games below .500 with a 4-6 record on the season after a tough loss to the Washington Wizards last night.
The defending champions have had a rough start to the season as injuries continue to pile up and a positive COVID-19 diagnosis has sidelined Khris Middleton. Obviously, a troublesome start such as this leaves little room for bright spots, but the newly acquired Grayson Allen is proving to be an exception. The 26-year-old has had no trouble adjusting to playing in his new environment after being traded to Milwaukee in the offseason, and this could be just the beginning.
Grayson Allen is giving Milwaukee Bucks fans something to be encouraged by as the losses pile up
Allen got off to a tremendously slow start for the Bucks to start the year by averaging 11.3 points per game while shooting 37.5 percent (12-of-32) from the floor and 26.9 percent (7-of-26) on his 3-pointers. The confidence was there for the newcomer, but he just could not find any sustainable rhythm from the outside over those games. Well, he has certainly flipped the switch over the last seven games for Milwaukee. In that timeframe, he has averaged 15.9 points while shooting 45.6 percent (36-of-79) from the field and an impressive 45.8 (27-of-59) percent from the outside.
Allen’s best performance of the 2021-22 season came in this stretch in a 113-98 loss against the New York Knicks. The guard scored 22 points on the night, having shot 8-of-12 from the floor and 6-of-9 from deep. Allen’s six made triples marked just one shy of tying a career-high as he let it fly with little hesitation. The loss was a tough pill to swallow, given that the Bucks jumped out to an early lead, but Allen’s fantastic performance proved to be one of the few positive takeaways.
As evidenced by the numbers, the guard’s confidence is incredibly high right now. He is playing the most prominent role of his career to this point, and he looks like a natural. That sweet-shooting is how the newcomer will earn his keep with the Bucks, and considering he is heaving a hefty 8.5 on average, he needs little encouragement to keep shooting. With Middleton out of the lineup for an unknown period of time and Jrue Holiday still working his way back into shape after missing time, the Bucks need their starting shooting guard to continue performing at this high of a level.
There is a reason why the Bucks handed Allen a two-year extension worth $20 million before the season began. They believe in the guard and his ability to help them make another title run, and he is undoubtedly proving them right for doing so. Of course,10 games is a small sample size to judge a player by, but the early returns on Milwaukee’s new two-guard could not be better.
If the Bucks will find a way to climb out of the hole they are in with a 4-6 record, they will need Allen to keep playing the best basketball of his young career.