Eric Gordon, Houston Rockets
Prior to the draft, this was probably one of the most flattering comparisons I saw for Grayson Allen. Obviously, this would be the best possible scenario for him if he were to truly maximize his potential and be placed into the perfect role for his skill sets.
I can see it though. Gordon is a stocky 6’4″ combo guard, who has high level athleticism. He has had a few drives to the basket where he has shocked his defender by getting up there and packing it.
Eric Gordon with the dunk on Blake Griffin. https://t.co/ubVipGc3Ua
— Hoop Central (@TheHoopCentral) January 16, 2018
We’ve already seen the sneaky athleticism of Allen during the summer league, where he had a few highlight reel dunks during warm ups, and then threw down a few in game.
The biggest part of their game is volume shooting though. Both players are pegged as knockdown shooters, but their overall three point shooting might be lower than you’d expect. Gordon won the All-Star Three-Point Contest in 2017, but he only has a career three-point shooting percentage of 37.6 percent. Last season with the Rockets, he actually only shot 36 percent from three.
The difference maker is the volume. Gordon attempted 8.8 threes per game the last two seasons. Grayson Allen had a similar production while playing at Duke, where he shot 38 percent during his four-year career. During his senior season, Allen attempted a whopping 7.5 threes per game, and connected on 37 percent of them.
If Allen is able to truly maximize his abilities, I can see him producing at a similar level to Eric Gordon, which would be an absolute steal for the Utah Jazz.