SLC Dunk - The Jazz have another steal in Grayson Allen

[hansenjames]

Dennis Lindsey can’t be stopped

Grayson Allen is already looking like the next steal for the Utah Jazz. His game has been translating well in NBA summer league and it looks like he should be a legitimate contributor to the team very soon.

According to NBA.com’s latest stats Allen is averaging 16.5 points, 6.5 rebounds and 4 assists per game. We knew his scoring would be there, albeit it hasn’t been as efficient as you’d hope, but it’s his rebounding and passing that has really been eye opening.

Allen has been whipping the ball around creating more offense for his teammates than I expected. He makes great passes too. The ball goes where it need to and in a place that’s easy for his teammates to catch and finish. It’s fun to watch!


On top of his passing, Allen’s rebounding has been another pleasant surprise. One thing that’s always interesting when watching summer league is to see just how big or small the players look on the floor with other NBA-sized players. Allen definitely looks a little larger than expected and it’s helping him grab multiple boards per game.

He’s also a fierce competitor with a knack for locating the ball after a miss and he isn’t afraid to get physical with other players and fight for the ball.

And there’s no reason to believe Allen won’t be doing the same things this season.

In Donovan Mitchell’s first summer league he averaged 28 ppg and then averaged 20 ppg during the regular season, which is about a 30% dropoff.

If Grayson’s stats go down 30% from summer league he’ll average around 11.5 points, 4.5 rebounds and 2.8 assists. That could be some incredible production for his rookie season, especially if he can shoot it efficiently from three.

Rudy Gobert was on the Lowe Post and it’s a great listen!

Lowe Post podcast: @rudygobert27 on his reaction to the Cousins signing, his confidence after Hayward left, his (mostly fake) ambitions of fighting Floyd Mayweather, much more from Vegas: https://t.co/Za47vH8f8c

— Zach Lowe (@ZachLowe_NBA) July 10, 2018​

The part that had me laughing was when he talked about DMing the NBA twitter account. Apparently he had been shortchanged a block by the in-game stat people and the only reason people know about his DM is because the community manager “snitched.”

Georges Niang continues his excellent summer league play and may find himself a roster spot soon.

Georges Niang is making a great case for a #utahjazz roster spot with his play in Summer League. This pass in transition was perfection #nba pic.twitter.com/3lT4Hds2Q5

— Jeremiah Jensen (@JJSportsBeat) July 10, 2018​

Much like Allen, Niang is showing more than just shooting. His passing has been very good. This is no small thing because if you want to play in Quin Snyder’s offense you have to move the ball to create buckets for open teammates. His defense is also showing up much better than expected.

The Jazz scouting and development team is really flourishing as the Jazz will continue to be one of the deepest teams in the league.

Ricky Rubio’s three point shooting continues!


This was at the Gasol vs Gasol charity event and, even though it’s just an exhibition, it’s a great sign. If Rubio can shoot the ball this upcoming season as well as he did last year, the Jazz are going to be very, very good.

According to Sportando, Stanton Kidd will sign a contract with the Utah Jazz.

Kidd has had a great summer league and it will be interesting to see what his role will be.

Stanton Kidd is expected to sign a contract with the Utah Jazz, according to sources

— Sportando (@Sportando) July 11, 2018​

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