Grayson Allen, hampered by injury, is in a bad slump; can Duke win big without him?
Duke's polarizing star is no longer producing. Is it merely because of injury?
•
3 min read
Grayson Allen had the worst game of the season on Wednesday, failing to score a point and logging merely 12 minutes in Duke’s 79-72 second-round ACC tournament win over Clemson.
Allen, again, threw the Internet a flare when he received a technical foul after bouncing the ball in frustration. That was the only notable thing he did in the game. Wednesday marked the first time since Allen’s freshman season, when he was a role player, that he failed to score in a game.
At this point, it’s fair to address what is clearly a slump. Duke is 5-3 in its last eight games. In that span, Allen has played seven times. (He sat out Duke’s road loss to Miami because of a tweaked ankle.) Unthinkably, Allen is averaging only 6.9 points and shooting 26 percent. It’s jarring. He was a projected first-round draft pick heading into this season, someone forecast as a highly probable first-team All-America selection.
Beyond that, remember, Allen was named the preseason National Player of the Year by almost every mainstream publication and/or news outlet. But at this point, he’s fallen well behind Luke Kennard and Jayson Tatum, and now it looks like Frank Jackson’s role has usurped Allen’s, too. Jackson is averaging 18.3 points and 4.9 rebounds in his last four games. He had 20 points and was crucial in Duke keeping itself separated from Clemson.
“Frank has played great for us,” Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski said. “He gives us a strong presence out there.”
Allen was nowhere to be found down the stretch of Wednesday’s game, instead sitting on the bench. He didn’t start, either, keeping up a pattern over the past four games.
But there is reason for this dip in performance from the most recognizable, polarizing player in college hoops.
“It wasn’t a good afternoon for him individually,” Krzyzewski said. “Collectively, obviously, it’s a great afternoon for us. When you don’t practice at the speed and with the reps that you normally do, it affects your performance. And it has with him.”
Since that big-time home win against North Carolina on Feb. 9, when he he had 25 points on 7-of-12 shooting from 3-point range, Allen has been slowed by injury, most notably an ankle that’s not fully healed. Krzyzewski said Allen’s lingering injuries were part of the reason he was held back so much on Wednesday. That’s believable. The technical foul led to Allen not returning in the second half until midway through, but overall, he clearly wasn’t helping Duke.
This problem can’t correct itself because Allen has been limited in practice. This is a reality Duke has lived with, for many players, from the preseason until now.
“I think the injury is a huge part of it because he has not been able to really go after it in practice, and he’s lost his timing, his rhythm,” Krzyzewski said. “Even today, what did he take? He took four shots, but the two 3s he took were right on target, but they were a little bit short. We got to get him going, and these guys will help him because they’re good teammates.”
Amid all this, let’s remember that Duke is 10-3 in its last 13 games while playing in the toughest conference in the country. Allen is hampered, yet Duke’s looks adequate enough to overcome that. Kennard is the MVP, and Tatum is good for three or four ready-for-the-NBA moves each game.
All that said, it’s fair to wonder if Duke will remain this enigma on a nightly basis if Allen isn’t fully healthy. The ACC tournament won’t affect Duke’s seeding all that much. Krzyzewski knows what he’s doing, and he’d be wise to rest Allen and be selective with his minutes now, because the Blue Devils will need him over the next three weeks if they want to get to the Final Four.
