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Day'Ron honing his edge, a Wizard worth watching, prospect snapshots...

QUICK HITS

• It’s not often that a former Dukie feels under-discussed, but it’s time that Grayson Allen be given some love—Emma Stone isn’t the only one noticing him. The sixth-year Phoenix Suns guard is in the midst of his best season, and in many ways has been the best non-big-three player on the team this year. Across all traditional stats, Allen is averaging career highs: 13.2 points, 2.8 assists, 4.2 rebounds, on 49.5% from the field, 46.2% from three, and 90% from the free-throw line. Already on his fourth team in six seasons, Allen has become as lethal an open shooter as there is in the league this season; evidenced by him making a run at being the tenth player in league history to become a member of the 50-40-90 club. In many ways, this isn’t surprising, as Allen came into the league with the reputation as a marksman. But this season he has reached a level that puts him in the elite class of perimeter threats. His 63.5% effective field goal percentage ranks 20th amongst all players, and fifth amongst guards—trailing only Nicolas Batum (69.8%), Malik Beasley (66.6%), Dante Exum (64.8%), and Aaron Nesmith (64.5%). Allen’s three-point percentage ranks sixth in the entire league, while the free-throw percentage would rank him eighth if he shot enough attempts per game to qualify—his 1.9 attempts per contest should get him to the requisite 125 total attempts for the season as long as he stays healthy. Allen has really embraced his role as a spacer and catch-and-shoot threat, feasting on the open opportunities given to him when the defenses collapse on Booker, Durant, or Beal. Despite attempting the most field goals per game of his career (9.1), Allen has the second-lowest usage percentage of any season (14.5%); a statistical juxtaposition that indicates how often Allen is getting shots fed to him by teammates. But Allen has also shown that the vaunted Duke education didn’t go to waste, as beyond his sizzling shooting, he has supplemented his scoring with smart cutting—his 3.9 points in the paint per game is a significant jump from his prior career-high (2.7 in ’20). Allen’s combination of perimeter shooting, smart play, and durability (he’s third on the team in appearances at 33) is exactly what this Suns team needed from him this season, as Phoenix’s struggles have meant they have relied more heavily on Allen than was expected—his 33.3 minutes per game are third on the team and are nearly six minutes more than his prior career high of 27.4 last season with Milwaukee.

• Very quietly, in his eighth NBA season, Derrick Jones Jr. is having his best year as a pro. After the Dallas Mavericks signed the journeyman forward in free agency this off-season—making the Mavs his fifth NBA team—it was assumed that Jones Jr. would add athleticism and defense, while vying for minutes with Maxi Kleber and Grant Williams. However, with injury issues continuing to plague Kleber, and Williams’ game still better suited to a reserve role, Jones Jr. became a somewhat unexpected starter to begin the season. In fact, he has actually been Dallas’ most reliable starter, as his 38 starts this season lead the team. Defensively, Jones Jr.’s versatility and athleticism allow him to guard several positions, a key for any wing defender in Dallas’ defensive scheme. Offensively, Jones Jr. was brought in to add some open-court explosiveness as a lane filler on the break, as well as some verticality in the half-court as a lob option for Luka. While all those things have proven true, Jones Jr.’s shooting has been a very pleasant surprise. If you’re going to play with Luka, you better be able to hit the open three, and Jones Jr. is not only shooting a career-high from behind the arc (34.8%) but he’s doing so on double the amount of makes per game (1.4) over any other season. His 50% of all field goals coming off catch-and-shoot opportunities is also a significant jump over any other season’s before (41.4% in ’21 was his prior career-high), signifying just how much Jones Jr. has adapted to, and embraced, his role in Luka’s offense. The success of the former UNLV product is a testament to how important fit can be to unlocking the best version of a player, as Jones Jr. has often been a liability as an outside shooter, an issue that relegated him in seasons past to a role as a reserve player who offered energy off the bench. The 38 starts in Dallas’ first 39 games are already the second-most of his career (43 games in ’21 for Portland), while his 26 minutes per game are the most he's ever played in a season (23.3 in ’20 with Miami was the prior high). Confidence breeds success, and Jones Jr.'s season is indicative of just that, as the heavy diet of open shots provided to him by Luka has clearly bolstered Jones Jr.’s faith in his own shooting abilities, and he has responded accordingly.

• Apparently, there is something more in the air in Utah than just the biting winter chill. After stumbling to a 7-16 record to start the season, the Utah Jazz seemed like a team ready to start unloading some of its bounty of players—a move that was expected at the trade deadline last year, initiating a presumed rebuild that was abated by the Jazz's surprising success last season. However, since losing to the Oklahoma City Thunder on Dec. 11th, a defeat that gave them their 16th of the season, the Jazz have been one of the hottest teams in the league, going 14-4 over the last month and nudging their record to a game over .500 at 21-20, with last night’s win against the Lakers. Utah has ridden this hot streak right back into playoff contention and currently sits in 10^th place in the Western Conference standings. Over their last 15 games in particular, Utah is tied for the league lead in wins (12) with the Thunder and the Clippers, fourth in points at 124.6 (BOS-127.3, MIL-126.3, OKC-125.6), fourth in plus/minus at 8.7 (OKC-12.4, BOS-11.8, NOP-11.8), fourth in assists at 30.1 (IND-32.3, TOR-30.5, OKC-30.5, SAC-30.1), and second in rebounds per game at 47.2 (BOS-49.0). All of this displays just how holistically impressive the Jazz have been during that stretch—not surprising considering how egalitarian of a system the Jazz run. The Jazz's depth has really been the key to team success, as they have 11 players averaging more than 17 minutes per game, with six players averaging double-digit points per game (Markanen-23.7, Clarkson-17.9, Sexton-16.5, Collins-13.9, George-11.1, Horton-Tucker-11.0). What this means for Utah come the trade deadline will be very interesting, as the Jazz have the assets to be either buyers, as they attempted to be in the offseason, or sellers, as they have refused to be due to their unexpected play over the course of the last year and a half. Either way, with great depth, a ton of assets, and stellar coaching from Will Hardy, the future feels a little bit warmer in Utah than was expected in this dead of winter.

• There has been very little to be excited about this season for the Washington Wizards, but the vastly improved play of fourth-year forward Deni Avdija offers a sliver of sunshine in what has otherwise been a gloomy season. Avdija, who is in his first season as a full-time starter, has improved significantly as a scorer after already having established himself as the best perimeter defender on the team. That may not be saying much considering the other perimeter defenders on the roster, but Avdija would be a good defender amidst any group. Avdija’s scoring (12.3 ppg), field goal percentage (50.1%), three-point percentage (35.9%), and effective field goal percentage (55.4%) are all career-highs. Though his efficiency has jumped across the board, it’s as much a reflection of his improved discretion as it is his improved stroke. Avdija is actually averaging a career-low in three-pointers attempted per game (2.7), while averaging a career-high in points in the paint per game (6.9, which is +2.2 points over his prior career-high), and his 61.3% frequency of total field goals scored within ten feet is also a career-high. Additionally, Avdija is getting out on the break for easy transition baskets, as reflected by 21.0% of his scoring occurring on fast break opportunities—a 5.8% increase from his prior career-high (15.2%). While Avdija has been good all season, he is really riding a heater over Washington’s last nine games, averaging 16.0 ppg on 53.6% from the field and 46.4% from behind the three-point line. This current stretch feels like a turning point for a player that had already shown vast improvement this year, as the former 9^th overall pick in the ‘20 draft looks more confident and assertive than at any other point in his career