Since the start of his career, in December 2020, Deni Avdija has chained three matches to 10 points or more only twice. The first time was mid-December last, and the second is now. In the victory over the Pistons, he scored 12 points at 4/9 on the shot, after his outings at 13 and 10 units against Brooklyn and Sacramento.
He benefits from a lot of playing time since he has played 30 minutes on average for three matches.
“I have confidence in myself to be more aggressive”, he explains to NBC Sports. “I have the ball more in hand, I play for others. Our movement of the ball in attack is excellent. We share it very well. It generates shots for everyone and I am one of the players who likes to play the game and offer shots for others. “
“I have the impression that we are more involved. There has been a bit of a change in our roles. We all need to do more now.”
In addition to his points, Deni Avdija added a career-high 15 rebounds against Detroit. As Kristaps Porzingis is still waiting and Montrezl Harrell is gone, he has to put in more effort under the panels.
“I am generally more aggressive, more mature as well”notes the Israeli. “I feel more powerful physically too. I worked a lot on my body. I am in the key and I help my teammates on the rebound. I have the impression that we are more involved. There has been a bit of a change in our roles. We all need to do more now. Our rotation is short, because Porzingis has not yet returned. “
Even if he is still a substitute, Deni Avdija has taken up more space in Washington since the “trade deadline” has passed. He shoots, scores and plays more, his presence in defense is noticed and his coach is therefore satisfied.
“Not everything is perfect, but no one expects it to be, and I appreciate their efforts”book Wes Unseld Jr. “Defensively, he is active. He understands situations better, he manages them better. He tries to understand things, to make the right choices. With his efforts, he offers himself an opportunity and that is important. “
It remains to be seen if this will continue once Kristaps Porzingis is fit to play…
| Deni Avdija | Percentage | Bounces | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | GM | Minimum | Shots | 3 points | LF | Off | Def | Early | pd | party | Int | bp | CT | Points |
| 2020-21 | WAS | 54 | 23 | 41.7 | 31.5 | 64.4 | 0.4 | 4.4 | 4.9 | 1.2 | 2.6 | 0.6 | 0.6 | 0.3 | 6.3 |
| 2021-22 | WAS | 56 | 23 | 44.2 | 30.4 | 75.0 | 0.6 | 4.4 | 5.0 | 1.6 | 2.3 | 0.8 | 0.9 | 0.6 | 7.5 |
| Total | 110 | 23 | 43.0 | 31.0 | 71.3 | 0.5 | 4.4 | 4.9 | 1.4 | 2.4 | 0.7 | 0.7 | 0.4 | 6.9 | |
