Jarrett Allen is already one of the most promising young centers in the NBA. Just imagine then how good the Brooklyn Nets big man will be once he adds a reliable 3-pointer to his game — a development coach Kenny Atkinson apparently wishes would come a bit sooner.
When discussing Jarrett Allen's development in year 2, Kenny Atkinson said, "I wish he would shoot a corner three every now and then."
Says Allen could make them and he (Atkinson) knows it.#Nets @NetsDaily
— Bryan Fonseca 🇵🇷 (@BryanFonsecaNY) March 6, 2019
It's rare for a coach to have to coax a player into shooting more 3-pointers, but it seems a byproduct of the evolution of the game that puts increasing emphasis on pace and space.
Allen hasn't avoided the 3-point arc altogether in 2018-19. The sophomore seven-footer is 6-of-39 from the corners overall — good for just 15.4 percent shooting — and 0-of-3 from above the break. Though his form is sound and his relative proficiency at the free-throw line suggests some shooting range to come, those ugly numbers make it clear Allen probably isn't ready to make 3-point shooting a big part of his game.
Fortunately for the Nets, he offers plenty of other positives elsewhere. Allen is shooting a near-elite 69.5 percent from the restricted area this season and has emerged as one of the league's top lob and dump-off threats, with 135 dunks. He's also a fearless rim-protectors with a host of highlight-reel blocks to his name.
Allen, still just 20 years old, definitely has ample room to improve on both sides of the ball. Even without expanding his shooting range, he'll be a starting center in the NBA for many years to come. But if he becomes a threat from deep, like what Atkinson wants, multiple All-Star games could be in the horizon.
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