Deni Avdija

[tontoz]

I am going to start posting videos of the opportunities that Deni passes up. Happens all the time

Maybe it is the pressure of having an entire country following his every move but Rui has the same problem. Doesn't stop him from shooting.

It is comical that you guys think that somehow Deni is the only guy on the team that the coaches and other players are holding back, but everyone else has the freedom to shoot as much as they want.

[Wizraeli]

Maybe Rui have the same problem and maybe he doesn't I don't know Japanese people and how much pressure they put on their representatives and how the media treats them, you can't compare two different countries like that but even if you could then ok, Rui is handling it, Deni isn't, what's your point? the question is how both the Wizards and Deni will solve this problem, and not what Rui is doing, both sides have an interest of Deni becoming better, just blaming Deni for not taking shots will help no one, ok so blame him and say he needs to man up and keep doing it for upcoming next 2 years and Deni will continue to be passive until both sides will go their sperate ways, how's that attitude will contribute the Wizards?

It is comical that you guys think that somehow Deni is the only guy on the team that the coaches and other players are holding back, but everyone else has the freedom to shoot as much as they want.

Where did you saw that I've said the coaches or the team is preventing him from shooting? please answer with a quote, I've said he doesn't get too many touches and the team should involve him more with the movement of the ball, movement doesn't necessarily means him shooting the ball.

[tontoz]

but the way the team ignores him on offense doesn't help

instead of just putting him in the corner waiting for god knows what.

Everyone is playing in the same offense. They don't suddenly change the offense when Deni leaves the game. Funny how other players aren't being "ignored" or "put in the corner waiting for God knows what".

I know he's a professional and pressure is part of the game and he'll need to learn to live with it, but the way the team ignores him on offense doesn't help anyone, not Deni and not the Wizards, even in Israel nobody is expecting him to become the first option on offense over Beal, Kuzma or Porzingis, but it won't hurt nobody if instead of that one-pass iso offense the Wizards are playing they will involve Deni more in the movement of the ball and in the decision making process on offense instead of just putting him in the corner waiting for god knows what.

[Wizraeli]

I wasn't talking about shots in those quotes, I talked about touches and ball movement, and I've already explained it to you, but you just understand what you want to understand.

Everyone are playing in the same offense, but not everyone are playing with the starting lineup, and I say again, so what? so Rui or another player is taking his "chances" and Deni isn't, the question is what can be done so Deni will take his chances, just blaming Deni and saying he needs to man up didn't work in the last 2 seasons and will probably won't work in the next 2, Deni won't become Rui just like Rui won't start defending and passing the ball all of a sudden, so either both Deni AND THE WIZARDS will find a way to make this thing work or we'll have Deni being passive for the next 2 years and then move on to his next stop, I don't see how's that a good deal for the Wizards.

[tontoz]

I wasn't talking about shots in those quotes, I talked about touches and ball movement, and I've already explained it to you, but you just understand what you want to understand.

Everyone are playing in the same offense, but not everyone are playing with the starting lineup, and I say again, so what? so Rui or another player is taking his "chances" and Deni isn't, the question is what can be done so Deni will take his chances, just blaming Deni and saying he needs to man up didn't work in the last 2 seasons and will probably won't work in the next 2, Deni won't become Rui just like Rui won't start defending and passing the ball all of a sudden, so either both Deni AND THE WIZARDS will find a way to make this thing work or we'll have Deni being passive for the next 2 years and then move on to his next stop, I don't see how's that a good deal for the Wizards.

This is the NBA. The coaches are trying to win games, not cater to a certain player.

If Deni wants more opportunities then he needs to take advantage of the opportunities he gets. That's how it works in the NBA. If he is afraid to drive or can't make a layup that's on him. He is supposed to be a pro.

Rui plays the same position in the same offense and is taking 13.6 shots per 36 minutes compared to 8.5 for Deni. That isn't coaching that is just one guy being aggressive and the other guy being passive.

Don't take this to mean I like Rui more than Deni because that is definitely not the case.

[badinage]

Enh.

It’s a two-way game.

And this is indisputable proof of the enormous affect he has on winning:

Read on Twitter

?s=46&t=vBF5GzETPUSeEOPoGyemfA

By the way: notice who’s at the top of the heap: Delon ‘Fast Hands’ Wright!

[Wizraeli]

I wasn't talking about shots in those quotes, I talked about touches and ball movement, and I've already explained it to you, but you just understand what you want to understand.

Everyone are playing in the same offense, but not everyone are playing with the starting lineup, and I say again, so what? so Rui or another player is taking his "chances" and Deni isn't, the question is what can be done so Deni will take his chances, just blaming Deni and saying he needs to man up didn't work in the last 2 seasons and will probably won't work in the next 2, Deni won't become Rui just like Rui won't start defending and passing the ball all of a sudden, so either both Deni AND THE WIZARDS will find a way to make this thing work or we'll have Deni being passive for the next 2 years and then move on to his next stop, I don't see how's that a good deal for the Wizards.

This is the NBA. The coaches are trying to win games, not cater to a certain player.

If Deni wants more opportunities then he needs to take advantage of the opportunities he gets. That's how it works in the NBA. If he is afraid to drive or can't make a layup that's on him. He is supposed to be a pro.

Rui plays the same position in the same offense and is taking 13.6 shots per 36 minutes compared to 8.5 for Deni. That isn't coaching that is just one guy being aggressive and the other guy being passive.

Don't take this to mean I like Rui more than Deni because that is definitely not the case.

If you want to compare the 2 so much then let's compare, Rui is 24 years old, Deni is 21, Rui is playing with the second unit, Deni with the starters, Rui doesn't do any effort on defense, Deni exhaust his energy with guarding the opposing team's best player every night, Rui doesn't care about passing, Deni does, just summarizing all of this to "Rui is aggressive and Deni isn't" is ridiculous.

You keep repeating yourself so I'll keep repeating myself, saying that Rui is aggressive and Deni isn't doesn't help anyone, saying he's a pro and needs to deal with it doesn't help anyone, the coaching staff is there in order to coach, not to just put people on the court and tell them to "deal with it", if both Deni AND the coaching staff won't find a way to get him involved on the offense then in the next 2 years we won't see too much improvement from Deni on that part and that's against the interest of the Wizards as well as Deni's.

[tontoz]

Deni played 74 games off the bench last year and played passively. It doesn't matter whether he starts or not

And spare me the irrelevant nonsense. I know Deni is much better on defense. That is irrelevant to this discussion.

Deni needs to improve on offense. What are the coaches supposed to do if he is afraid to drive, doesn't look at the basket or misses layups? Why would coaches give a bigger role to a player with those issues?

The team is currently 3-1. Do you think they would have a better record if the offense ran through Deni?

[Wizraeli]

And spare me the irrelevant nonsense. I know Deni is much better on defense. That is irrelevant to this discussion

You are the one who wanted to compare the two players so much, and it looks like anything that doesn't support your opinion is "nonsense", think what you want, it doesn't make it right.

Deni needs to improve on offense. What are the coaches supposed to do if he is afraid to drive, doesn't look at the basket or misses layups? Why would coaches give a bigger role to a player with those issues?

I already told you 3 times what they need to do, get Deni more involved in the offensive plays, getting involved doesn't necessarily mean he's taking the shots, if they will utilize him as a playmaker more then it will probably help his confidence just as well, but putting him on the corner doing nothing is not the way, he can have a similar role to what Satoransky had last season, but that's a coaching decision, you keep pretending like Deni can just decide doing it by himself and do whatever he wants, that's not how it works.

The team is currently 3-1. Do you think they would have a better record if the offense ran through Deni?

I think that the chart above shows that even with his offensive limitations Deni had an important role in that 3-1, logic says that if he'll improve his offensive contribution then that will only have a more positive effect on the wins ratio so I think it's the coaching staff and team's best interest to see what they can do to help him to make it happen, but I don't know, maybe that chart is also nonsense because it doesn't support your opinion, right? I say again for the 100th time, getting involved doesn't mean shooting more, with Deni's personality I don't think it will matter to him if he'll finish the game with 10 points or 10 assists, both stats will help his confidence, but keep saying he needs to improve his offense without any help from the coaching staff is not realistic.

[doclinkin]

Bro we don't know it yet cause he doesn't even get to a situation when he's that much with the ball What signature shot? Have you checked how many FGA he has compared to his teammates this year so far? The thing is that you can't have an unstoppable move, or signature shot, if you without the ball lol.

He's shooting 44% with 2-pt shots. That's not from standing in the corner, that's from sucking at making baskets right now.

Maybe his groin is the issue. You think it is his confidence and we should forcefeed him the ball so that he gets better. That's not really how it works. Should we feature Johnny Davis and maybe he will start hitting a few and boom, suddenly he knows how to shoot? No, he needs to put in the work and start hitting shots. You complain about Deni standing in the corner, but he is suddenly hitting .375 from outside. That is a significant jump from the .315 ish range he was shooting this first 2 years.

Players get better when they play better. It's axiomatic. They earn more time and are rewarded with significant roles when they prove they can do it. The teams that are at the bottom of the standings year after year are those that rely on young players who are gunning for stats and don't yet know how to win, but play anyway developing bad habits.

Deni calling his own number is not a winning play. Designing plays for Deni to finish is not winning coaching. Deni improves by playing next to better players. Deni's confidence improves by actually hitting those shots. But it shows up in games right now that he worked all summer on his jumper. He was rewarded with a starting role.

It's 4 freaking games so far. He played well against the Bulls then crappy against the Cavs. Coaches rightly pulled him from that game. He came back against the Pistons and played much better. And guess what: earned more minutes in that game than in his other 3 games. That looks like good decisions by the coaches to me. When you produce, you force them to keep you out there.

Nope. There are no special rules for Deni. He is playing next to guys with 5-10 years of experience. He has played 2. You should be proud of your boy that he has displaced Will Barton from the line-up with his 10 years of experience, 5 years as a full time starter.

[doclinkin]

The "situation" is just him not being aggressive.

The situation is him having an entire country watching and analyzing each and every movement or breath he takes, after each game the Israeli media is filled with articles and videos covering and analyzing all of the actions he took during the last game, those misses under the rim when he's wide open is a clear indication of the pressure he's feeling on his shoulders, combine it with the fact that he doesn't get too many touches of the ball on offense any way and you'll get someone that for him every time he gets the ball in a scoring situation he feels like his entire career depends on him making that shot and he become nervous and afraid to make mistakes, which ironically that eventually what leads him to make mistakes and silly misses, in the summer on the national team he didn't make that kind of mistakes, and I assume that's because he doesn't feel on the NT that every time he touches the ball is a rare event.

No it's because the Eurobasket teams had one, maybe 2 NBA players on their rosters. The calibre of athleticism is different. They are more physical in Europe with hacking and bumping on defense, but in the NBA players are simply bigger, faster, more athletic. Things that Deni has room to do in Europe get smothered up here. Especially down low. Deni is solidly athletic in Euroleague play, one of the quicker face-up bigs with the ball. In the NBA he doesn't have the same advantage. And he won't unless he gets an outside shot that forces players to try to guard him up close. Right now players don't really have to guard him: he's not gonna shoot when he gets the ball.

Thing is he is doing fine. Really really well. Developing at a good rate, the team values him. I see two Israeli posters complaining that he is under so much pressure, and then demanding that he get more touches and more pressure. Why? He's playing well, better team ball than most other players, and having a good effect. I'd suggest you be a little more patient. He's doing solid work. Kid is an instant veteran on the defensive end, which is the side of the ball that young players struggle with most. PLUS in the past year the league changed emphasis on certain rules, now allowing defenders to play more physical. Deni is taking full advantage of the change.

There is nothing wrong with Deni's development. He is making the right plays. When he has a clear lane he attacks, when the lane closes he swings it to other players. When he has an open shot outside, he takes it. That is just good team ball. Currently, the player who is shooting too much relative to their efficiency, is Porzingis. Deni is not. He's not scoring well from 2pt range, but he is not forcing it either.

He will add more to his game as he develops comfort out there. Relax Israel, your boy is damn good. Developing well. Except phenoms like Doncic and Nowitzki, Euroleague players tend not to step right onto the court in the NBA and dominate. But Deni is on track to be a core player on a winning team. If it takes him a minute to find an offensive game, that is okay ,so long as he is working on his game and getting minutes. Deni is one of what, 12-13? Euro players who start for their team. And of those players he is the youngest.

Chill out. Let him play. He's fine.

[AFM]

TALK TO EEEEM DOC!!!

[doclinkin]

Enh.

It’s a two-way game.

And this is indisputable proof of the enormous affect he has on winning:

Read on Twitter

?s=46&t=vBF5GzETPUSeEOPoGyemfA

By the way: notice who’s at the top of the heap: Delon ‘Fast Hands’ Wright!

Yeah, I was about to say, Deni needs more time on court with Delon. But since I want them to tank, nevermind.

[Wizraeli]

Things that Deni has room to do in Europe get smothered up here.

I'm sorry but that's a myth, see what Luka and Giannis were saying this summer, they both said it's easier to score in the NBA and that they have more space on the floor, the defense in Europe is tighter because of the closer 3 pt line, no defensive 3 seconds, no illegal defense, more physicality and much less star treatment, if were talking specifically about Deni, since he was the dominant player he was also the target of the opponents defense and got double and triple teamed every night, but still he looked completely different on offense than how he is on the Wizards, and the reason in my opinion was his confidence, he cared less if he makes a mistake because he knew the ball will continue to go through him, the bottom line is that he didn't made those silly wide open misses in the NT, wide open misses like last night got nothing to do with the size of the other players or how athletic they are since he was all alone, but besides, Deni doesn't have a huge problem with handling the size and athleticism of the NBA players on defense, so I don't see it as the reason for his problems on offense, his problem is confidence, not size and not his athletic ability.

I see two Israeli posters complaining that he is under so much pressure, and then demanding that he get more touches and more pressure. Why? He's playing well, better team ball than most other players, and having a good effect.

You (and tontoz) seem to group all comments by Israelis under the same "give him more minutes, more shots, make him the star" group, I haven't said any of that, I've suggested my opinion to the reason why he's not aggressive and my opinion regarding how to solve it, I've said he looks like his confidence is very low and I suggested that using him more as a playmaker rather than someone that stand in the corner and waits for a pass will help, I didn't said he needs to get more scoring opportunities or roles, why? because we are seeing two different Deni's in Europe and in the NBA, in Europe he's confident, take buzzer beater winning 3 pt shots and score on players like Jokic in the paint regardless of how much pressure he's got as the main player and in the NBA he's missing wide open layups and many times his body language looks of someone who's frustrated, in your opinion the reason for the difference is the size and athleticism of his defenders, but to me it looks like he just doesn't feel like he's part of the offense.

[Runner300]

Deni's role on the team, as defensive stopper is good for the team in the short term, but somewhat problematic for Deni.
He's exhausting himself in defense, leaving no energy for already limited offensive role.
Then he misses an occasional open shot and loses his confidence.
Less usage means lower statistics line, and that on his 3rd "leap" year, hurting his next contract.
Regarding our bi-polar provincial media - I think it has low impact.

This is a multidimensional snowball on a non-equilibrium system.

Would he be a better natural shooter, things would be much easier for him.
But he's not, and probably never will be, and we, israeli fans, might not see his full potential fulfilled.
Not in this league.

[Dolevi]

No I am saying he needs to do something with the ball when he gets it. So many times last year he would get the ball and not even look to score. He would just act like the ball was a hot potato and he had to get rid of it. Nobody else on the team was doing that.

If he gets the ball behind the line and a defender is running out at him, drive to the basket. It isn't that complicated. Make the defense do something.

The question is if these are the same things they practice and do at the gym, or there Deni's more active and does more things with the ball?

I'll tell you something. If someone in the coaching staff or even some of the players in the squad would have wanted Deni to do more - they would just talk about it - and he would execute. But he "knows his place" and is afraid of not making mistakes right now. This is directly connecting to what I've said about the dressing room vibes. Right now there are some simple roles. For Deni, is guarding the opponent's best player, be the glue, making the right play and stretch the floor. That's it.

Don't you think it's something pre-built? Don't you agree with me the coach and the other players want it to be that way? What, you expect Deni to be Nasty and break the offensive system? It's like breaking an unseen code between players to players and coaches. Know your place, don't be a hero. Nobody there wants him to be more aggressive or more nasty, sorry I'm not buying it hahaha They want the shots and stats for themselves, and they also don't trust him to do things with it. If you had trust between teammates at offense, all this wouldn't have happened.

Nonsense. The NBA is a man's league. There isn't going to be a lot of hand holding.

All of the guys on the team are playing in the same offense. The other guys take advantage of the opportunities they get. Deni doesn't. It's as simple as that.

Do you think the coaches are telling him not to drive when there is an open lane to the rim? Do you think they are telling him not to look at the rim when he gets the ball? That is ridiculous.

in the end, someone must tell him about this, and he must performs. Both you and I aren't inside the locker room. Maybe there is some mental thing of Ranks and Jobs that are agreed by all the players, especially the leaders. You and i both don't know, maybe the other teammates don't have respect for him and demand the ball at their hands. Dynamics inside a locker room. I'm not saying it is that for 100%, but how can you be so sure it isn't the situation?

[montestewart]

Such impatience for something to happen with Avdija. It's only four games in, and he's dealing with what a lot of young players deal with who don't come into the league as shooters. Wizards don't want to crush his confidence and waste the pick they used on him (at least I'm hoping they don't), but it's not entirely on them to figure it out. They are (bizarrely) trying to win now, and might make some choices with an eye on this year's W-L rather than a particular young player's development. I was not happy when he got pulled from the Cavs game, but that's life in the NBA and younger players typically are pulled for missing shots more than established players (Kuzma) are. I'm not ruling out that there was some unreported health-related issue in addition to missing his shots that was behind pulling him, and also wonder if he's on a minutes restriction.

Avdija's per-36 shot attempts seem about right for a defensive-minded 4th/5th option, a little low to start the season but that will probably rise. If his improved 3 % continues, he and the team will get more confidence and his teammates will look for him more. If he becomes more assertive within the offense, taking the shot, attacking the basket, drawing fouls, that will further strengthen his and his teammates confidence. His 2 pt % will probably trend back up to at least his career norm, and hopefully higher. His other stats look pretty good right now, and he looks like he's on his way to his best season. If he makes All-Defensive team, that will further enhance his confidence. Still only four games.

For those fans that started following the Wizards when Avdija joined the team, my perspective as a nearly 50 year Bullets/Wizards fan is tainted by seeing some teams where NO ONE played defense. I'm just happy he's on the team, and in that sense he's already shown he knows how to contribute. I expect an incremental evolution of both his offensive game and his teammates confidence in him. If he developed into something along the lines of Battier, Kirilenko, a tough defender and a reliable 3rd/4th option, that can get you a long career in the NBA (maybe even an All Star game) and he seems to be moving in the right direction rather than the wrong one. He''d be pleased to know how excitedly we are discussing him, and AFM and PIF haven't weighed in for a while. Let's keep the all night Avdija postathon going!

[Dolevi]

Deni's role on the team, as defensive stopper is good for the team in the short term, but somewhat problematic for Deni.
He's exhausting himself in defense, leaving no energy for already limited offensive role.
Then he misses an occasional open shot and loses his confidence.
Less usage means lower statistics line, and that on his 3rd "leap" year, hurting his next contract.
Regarding our bi-polar provincial media - I think it has low impact.

This is a multidimensional snowball on a non-equilibrium system.

Would he be a better natural shooter, things would be much easier for him.
But he's not, and probably never will be, and we, israeli fans, might not see his full potential fulfilled.
Not in this league.

Never say never bro. Next year he's making the leap.

Spoiler:

Kidding

[Dolevi]

Things that Deni has room to do in Europe get smothered up here.

I'm sorry but that's a myth, see what Luka and Giannis were saying this summer, they both said it's easier to score in the NBA and that they have more space on the floor, the defense in Europe is tighter because of the closer 3 pt line, no defensive 3 seconds, no illegal defense, more physicality and much less star treatment, if were talking specifically about Deni, since he was the dominant player he was also the target of the opponents defense and got double and triple teamed every night, but still he looked completely different on offense than how he is on the Wizards, and the reason in my opinion was his confidence, he cared less if he makes a mistake because he knew the ball will continue to go through him, the bottom line is that he didn't made those silly wide open misses in the NT, wide open misses like last night got nothing to do with the size of the other players or how athletic they are since he was all alone, but besides, Deni doesn't have a huge problem with handling the size and athleticism of the NBA players on defense, so I don't see it as the reason for his problems on offense, his problem is confidence, not size and not his athletic ability.

I see two Israeli posters complaining that he is under so much pressure, and then demanding that he get more touches and more pressure. Why? He's playing well, better team ball than most other players, and having a good effect.

You (and tontoz) seem to group all comments by Israelis under the same "give him more minutes, more shots, make him the star" group, I haven't said any of that, I've suggested my opinion to the reason why he's not aggressive and my opinion regarding how to solve it, I've said he looks like his confidence is very low and I suggested that using him more as a playmaker rather than someone that stand in the corner and waits for a pass will help, I didn't said he needs to get more scoring opportunities or roles, why? because we are seeing two different Deni's in Europe and in the NBA, in Europe he's confident, take buzzer beater winning 3 pt shots and score on players like Jokic in the paint regardless of how much pressure he's got as the main player and in the NBA he's missing wide open layups and many times his body language looks of someone who's frustrated, in your opinion the reason for the difference is the size and athleticism of his defenders, but to me it looks like he just doesn't feel like he's part of the offense.

Yes. It's all about dynamics inside the locker room, roles and jobs agreed by the stars. Yet here a lot of Wiz fans are saying "It's up to him more", and that "he needs to force his game on offense more" and be more "active offensivly/agressive", Still, it's just not logical to not give him the very minimum running the point with the bench sometimes. Only good can happen from this. Maybe this way he would show he can be more like that? (Agressive, Assertive). Line-ups and roles.

He will add more to his game as he develops comfort out there. Relax Israel, your boy is damn good. Developing well. Except phenoms like Doncic and Nowitzki, Euroleague players tend not to step right onto the court in the NBA and dominate. But Deni is on track to be a core player on a winning team. If it takes him a minute to find an offensive game, that is okay ,so long as he is working on his game and getting minutes. Deni is one of what, 12-13? Euro players who start for their team. And of those players he is the youngest.

Chill out. Let him play. He's fine.

Amennnnn. LET'S GO!

[Dolevi]

You should be proud of your boy that he has displaced Will Barton from the line-up with his 10 years of experience, 5 years as a full time starter.

In that you're definitely right Doc, and we are proud of that, but the ceiling is way more higher.. :/

Everyone is playing in the same offense. They don't suddenly change the offense when Deni leaves the game. Funny how other players aren't being "ignored" or "put in the corner waiting for God knows what".

But it's not just to put some random guy there.
1) He's not a true good shooter / C&S, and never was. with all the effort he puts.
2) He's very young and talented, mostly in defensive skills, and offcourse all about the playmaking i've written about this before.

That's why we can't understand that. Believe me, when i see a player being wasted in some position, i'm saying it. It's not just about Deni. It's Basketball. Stop relate it just to the fact we're israelis hahaha, we want to see good Basketball from your team