Integrating Deni Avdija in his five major, Wes Unseld Jr. wanted to bring a hint of defense to a very talented group offensively. The winger is therefore reduced to a defensive role, in the shadows, which brings balance among the holders.
He’s not here to shine and his stats prove it: 15 minutes per game, and averaging 4 points and 4 rebounds so far. No matter how big the numbers are, Avdija knows her mission is critical.
“My tenure proves that the coach and the franchise have confidence in me, they believe in me, and they believe that I deserve this place”, does he judge for NBC Sports. “I can take the pressure off the other starters. I’m kind of the glue guy of this major five. I try to do the right thing, to defend, to rebound. »
It’s not always perfect since in Cleveland, Avdija was in charge of taking care of Donovan Mitchell. He was quickly dominated from behind (37 points) and plagued by faults, with four committed in less than fifteen minutes. The Israeli is still sometimes a little mentally tender, and to bring as much as possible to Bradley Beal and company, he must be violent.
“Whatever happens, we have to understand why it’s not going our way and move on,” announces the coach, at washington postevoking his group as a whole. “You have to think about the next action. Otherwise, it will eat us up and we won’t be in it anymore. It will have a snowball effect. »
The impact of the winger will be very little visible with points and baskets. Nevertheless, being a starter and having a role of “glue guy”, this costume that Nicolas Batum put on so well at the Clippers, is a great opportunity for the 9th choice of the 2020 Draft.
“There are not many Israelis who have been drafted, who have had a chance to be great players. I feel like I have this chance and I don’t want to end my career telling myself that I was talented and that I could have been excellent and done better. I try to make the most of my potential so that I don’t regret anything later. »
| Deni Avdija | Percentage | Bounces | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Crew | 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 | 82 | 24 | 43.2 | 31.7 | 75.7 | 0.6 | 4.6 | 5.2 | 2.0 | 2.3 | 0.7 | 1.1 | 0.5 | 8.4 |
| 2022-23 | WAS | 2 | 15 | 60.0 | 100.0 | 100.0 | 0.0 | 5.0 | 5.0 | 2.0 | 2.5 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 5.0 |
| Total | 138 | 24 | 42.7 | 31.9 | 73.2 | 0.5 | 4.5 | 5.1 | 1.7 | 2.4 | 0.7 | 0.9 | 0.4 | 7.5 | |
