PHOENIX — He's the new fan favorite.
Suns guard Grayson Allen used to be one of the most disliked players in basketball for his dirty antics in college at Duke. Good thing stupid college mistakes don't define a career.
They haven't for Allen, and as folks continue to find out, he's the type of guy you want on your team. Walt Whitman said it best, "be curious, not judgemental."
The more you watch Allen, the more impressed you are with his hustle, dedication to the game and skill. Tuesday night in their epic 22-point comeback win over the Kings, Allen was THE reason the Suns stayed in the game early on when they were getting booed out of the building.
He even tied the franchise record again with nine threes and a team-high 29 points.
"He's come here to Phoenix and showed everybody in the basketball world the different parts of games," said Kevin Durant. "He can pretty much do it all."
Including -- call out the fans.
Tonight on Cam's Comments, Suns fans -- it's time to be better. The amazing comeback against the Kings was a true chance to wipe the season clean, and most importantly, rally the Valley.
"The energy in the building was bad at points tonight," said Allen. "Like the crowd was booing. I wish we would work together with the crowd. I understand we weren't playing well, they paid for their tickets so they can come out and cheer however they want to. But man when we're down, we want to be a great home court team and we have such a great crowd, it was so loud tonight. I wish they would cheer us on and help give us some energy in those times too. But in the fourth quarter and when we went on that run, it was the loudest I heard it all season. That feeling of being on that run is why we made all those shots."
Finally, someone said it. All season, I've heard the same complaints about how this team hasn't connected with the valley yet. That they're missing the personality, passion and fun that a Cam Payne, the twins (Cam Jonson and Mike Bridges) -- heck sometimes even Deandre Ayton brought. But that's the reality when you turn over a roster.
There are a bunch of new players on this team and success takes time. Offseasons don't win championships, but hard work can get you there. And despite limited time together and a bunch of injuries, this Suns team hasn't stopped grinding.
They don't complain.
- No complaints from Devin Booker about playing point guard.
- No complaints from Kevin Durant. He's willing to take a backseat when needed and still carry the team at an MVP level.
- No complaints from head coach Frank Vogel. He was brought here to coach the NBA's next great trio, yet you could count the number of games they've played together on two hands.
They don't complain... so why do fans?
It's no secret the atmosphere inside the Footprint Center this season is off. Missing is the personality, passion and fun of a city that hangs its hat on being a basketball town at its' core. During the 2021 finals run, when the city got its soul back, the crowd became part of the story. Back then, if a Suns player asked you to cheer, you would've blown the roof off the building.
These requests have worked. They did in the World Series with D-backs first baseman Christian Walker. We asked for the crowd to cheer him to help him get out of his slump in Game 3 and it worked. Just next time, follow the stop sign.
Back in 2015, former Suns forward Markieff Morris made a similar request, but thanks to years of bad decisions and bad basketball, it fell on deaf ears.
"They don't boo but they don't cheer that much either," said Markieff. "When we stand up and we fighting and I've got to do this (waves arms) 15 times to get the fans up, I don't think that's fair to us. I know we're a lot better than that. I know Phoenix fans are a lot better than that."
Suns fans are better. Ask Suns legend Charles Barkley. He'll say you're the best fans in the NBA. So let's act like it.
"One of the things I just wish is us and the crowd would work together a little bit more," said Allen.
"Rally the Valley" isn't just a punch line. It's a way of life. This Suns team, which has all the talent to win our city its first NBA title, is asking you to rally the Valley again. So listen for the ROAR!
Those are my comments, let me hear yours. @CamCox12 or ctcox@12news.com.
>> Download the 12News app for the latest local breaking news straight to your phone.
Watch the full video of Cam's Comments below.
12Sports on YouTube
Watch more of the latest sports videos on the 12News YouTube channel. Don’t forget to subscribe!
