I don\u2019t know if Grayson Allen\u2019s departure would necessarily be described as a big shoes to fill. But when you look at the production he provided over three seasons with the Phoenix Suns, it might be one of the more underrated stories surrounding the organization during that stretch.<\/p>\n
Allen appeared in 190 games for Phoenix, starting 108 of them, while averaging 13.3 points on 41.0% shooting from beyond the arc. Add in 3.4 rebounds and 2.9 assists per game, along with the fact that he led the NBA in three-point shooting three seasons ago at 46.1% while starting 74 of the 75 games in which he appeared, and you begin to appreciate how valuable his contributions were. That\u2019s a role that won\u2019t be easy to replicate, and it\u2019s essentially the one Luke Kennard is stepping into as he arrives in Phoenix.<\/p>\n
Kennard carries much of the same stigma that followed Allen prior to his arrival in the Valley, particularly when it comes to his archetype as a player. He\u2019s viewed primarily as a three-point shooter, somebody whose value is largely defined by his ability to knock down shots from the perimeter. But what Kennard has showcased thus far in the preseason is an ability to contribute in ways beyond his shooting.<\/p>\n
Of course, shooting the basketball remains his calling card, and through three preseason appearances, he\u2019s demonstrated why. In 17.8 minutes per game, Kennard is averaging 12.3 points while shooting 35.7% from beyond the arc. He\u2019s attempting 4.7 three-pointers per game, which is where much of his offensive impact is expected to come from.<\/p>\n
Throughout his career, Kennard has posted a three-point attempt rate of 58.4%, meaning the majority of his field goal attempts have come from beyond the arc. That trend has continued through the preseason, with 56% of his shots, 14 of his 25 attempts, coming from deep. If he\u2019s going to replicate the role Allen occupied in Phoenix, he still has ground to cover in that area. Allen attempted 68% of his shots from beyond the three-point line, showcasing how heavily his offensive role was built around perimeter shooting.<\/p>\n
But what Kennard has showcased this preseason is a much more layered and complex ability to handle the basketball than I think I was prepared for. Much like I didn\u2019t fully appreciate how effective Grayson Allen was at putting the ball on the floor and attacking the cylinder, I wasn\u2019t nearly as aware of Kennard\u2019s ability to use his handle to create opportunities for himself while also facilitating and finding his teammates.<\/p>\n
Through three preseason appearances, Kennard has recorded 10 assists against only three turnovers, adding another dimension to what he can provide the second unit. His ability to create offense beyond simply catching and shooting makes that group more versatile and potentially more potent.<\/p>\n
Will he become the volume shooter that Allen was last season? Allen averaged 8.9 three-point attempts per game in the 24 games he came off the bench, so Kennard still has some ground to cover if he\u2019s going to replicate that level of opportunity and production. He\u2019ll need to demonstrate that he can remain effective while taking on a larger role as a perimeter shooter. And the Suns are going to need that production, especially considering they project to be among the bottom tier of NBA teams in three-point shooting percentage this season.<\/p>\n
What Kennard has demonstrated thus far is a much more layered offensive skill set than I initially anticipated, one that was on full display Saturday night when he scored 20 points against the San Antonio Spurs.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s what makes Kennard\u2019s early performances so encouraging. Phoenix acquired him to replace a significant portion of the shooting it lost, but he\u2019s beginning to demonstrate that his value could extend beyond the three-point line. The ball-handling, decision-making, and ability to create opportunities for others provide Jordan Ott with additional flexibility. Kennard doesn\u2019t need to become Grayson Allen 2.0. He needs to make his own impact. And through three preseason games, he\u2019s showing us that there\u2019s more to his game than we anticipated.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"I don\u2019t know if Grayson Allen\u2019s departure would necessarily be described as a big shoes to fill. But…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":856676,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3791],"tags":[7,6,2065,472,4045,604,96472,4147],"class_list":["post-856675","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-phoenix-suns","tag-basketball","tag-nba","tag-phoenix","tag-phoenix-suns","tag-phoenixsuns","tag-suns","tag-suns-preseason","tag-suns-analysis"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nba\/117425366888088184","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/856675","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=856675"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/856675\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/856676"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=856675"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=856675"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=856675"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}