Utah’s Allen providing spark off the bench, making strides
BROOKLYN >> It would seem likely that Grayson Allen is the only player in the NBA with a “Tripping Incidents” subsection on his Wikipedia page.
But, it’s that same unquestioned fire in his game — not to mention averaging 14 points, three assists and three rebounds as a four-year standout at Duke, of course — that makes him an asset at the next level, something the Utah Jazz were hoping to capitalize on when they took him with the 21st overall pick in the 2018 NBA Draft.
Allen has been used sparingly by head coach Quin Snyder — he hasn’t played in eight of Utah’s first 22 games, including their 101-91 win over the Brooklyn Nets on Wednesday night — but has relied upon a style of play that made him one of the most hated players in college basketball history to maximize the minutes he does get at the next level.
“Really, for me, it’s trying to be a ball of energy off the bench,” Allen told The Trentonian in a one-on-one conversation at the Barclays Center.
“I think that’s the way I can help most, I guess. If I can come in and make some energy plays or just come in and play hard, I think that helps. Playing hard comes as a pain in the ass to some people, but if I can just come off the bench and do that, I can help.”
Allen, who won a national championship with the Blue Devils in 2015 and was First Team All-ACC in 2016, garnered national headlines for three separate tripping incidents in his sophomore and junior year, plus a “hip check” fiasco in the ACC Tournament during his senior year.
All of that overshadowed his natural talent as a shooting guard who led the ACC with 102 made three-pointers in his senior season and was a 43 percent shooter from the floor over his four-year collegiate career. It’s made the on-court adjustment to the NBA a smooth one, which helps as he gets used to the grind of travel in pro ball.
“On the court, I’m just kind of figuring a lot of things out,” Allen said. “I’m learning what coach wants and his tendencies. I’m really the only new guy off last year’s team, so there really isn’t much review heading into the season. It’s an accelerated learning process. As far as adjusting to the NBA in general, just the road trips are the toughest. We’ve been on eightday, nine-day road trips. You finish it, come home with a backto-back and then you’re back on the road again. I’m not going to complain about how we’re traveling, but going from city-to-city so fast is something I’ve got to get used to.”
While questions about playing for Duke and Mike Krzyzewski won’t be going away any time soon — one reporter curiously chose to record video of asking Allen if he could spell his old coach’s last name as he was doing leg strengthening exercises on one foot before the game — Allen does acknowledge his time with the Blue Devils did accelerate that on and off-court learning curve even further.
“I think playing in big arenas, big venues and the big media presence at Duke kind of helps prepare you for the NBA,” he said. “Definitely playing for Coach (Krzyzewski) helps. A lot of the film sessions I’ve had here and how detailed they are, I already had in college many times already. My experiences in college and playing different roles each year has helped round me out as a player where it’s, ‘OK, this is what coach needs. I’ve done some of this before or been asked to do this before.’ I just have to get back to doing it.”
It’s hard to judge Allen’s growth on the court in just numbers. When he does play, he’s averaging 4.6 points per game in 10.5 minutes per game, but has made great strides as a defender since his last game with Duke.
“I think where I’m at now, there’s such an emphasis on the defensive end,” Allen said. “If you watched my last college game, you’d see me sitting at the top of the zone trying to get some steals, where now coach puts a strong emphasis on transition defense where if you don’t get back, you’re straight up not playing. I’ve learned every shot that goes up, I’m sprinting back, there’s no crashing for offensive boards. There’s more focus on defense. In college, I’m in there for 40 minutes and here I’m in there for two, three, five, seven whatever it is at a time. I’ve got to be focused on everything the whole time.”