Deni Avdija

[nate33]

If Avdija can continue this level of production, he deserves an opportunity to be on a team where the offense runs through him on a consistent basis. If the Wizards can't provide that opportunity - and it looks increasingly like they will not be able to - then he should go elsewhere.

This makes no sense.

Up until the last 9 games, Avdija looked totally incapable of being a guy "where the offense runs through him on a consistent basis". He was (and is) way too turnover prone, and he didn't finish efficiently enough around the rim. What he could do was be a secondary ball handler running weak-side pick-and-rolls after the primary actions got the defense out of position. And for most of this year and half of last, he has had the opportunity to do that. But at no point along the way, has there been any reason to believe that Wes or the rest of the organization has done Deni a disservice by not running the offense through him. He didn't deserve it.

In the past few games, Deni has been more aggressive, attacking the cup whenever the defense is just the slightest bit out of position. That opportunity has always been there, but Deni wasn't taking it because he wasn't confident enough in his ability to finish. His USG% was 15.5% over his first 45 games. In his last 8 games, it's 21.0%. That's great. Deni is finally seizing the opportunity. It looks like he is being developed nicely by the organization. I don't see any problem whatsoever.

[NatP4]

I can tell ya one thing for absolute certain. The wizards are much better off with Deni playing the Kuzma role, than Kuzma himself.

If the wizards viewed Deni as the important member of their “big 3”, and shipped Kuzma out for draft capital, we would be in a much better spot. This Kuzma injury has forced Unseld to actually play Deni, this is a very predictable result.

[nate33]

I can tell ya one thing for absolute certain. The wizards are much better off with Deni playing the Kuzma role, than Kuzma himself.

If the wizards viewed Deni as the important member of their “big 3”, and shipped Kuzma out for draft capital, we would be in a much better spot. This Kuzma injury has forced Unseld to actually play Deni, this is a very predictable result.

While I agree that the absence of Kuzma has brought out the best in Deni, I'm not convinced that Deni couldn't have done this with Kuzma around. Deni has often been given the role of secondary ball-handler, certainly on the many occasions when one of Beal/Porzingis/Kuzma has been out. But in the past, Deni has deferred, giving up shots and making the extra pass almost to a fault rather than taking it to the rim himself. Now he suddenly has more confidence and is being more aggressive.

I believe that extra confidence has come while Kuzma is out because Deni knows there really isn't anyone else to fill the role. But I don't agree that he hasn't had the opportunity before. The team has practically been begging Deni to be more aggressive. I don't think there's any reason Deni can't continue with this higher usage rate even after Kuzma returns.

[dckingsfan]

I can tell ya one thing for absolute certain. The wizards are much better off with Deni playing the Kuzma role, than Kuzma himself.

If the wizards viewed Deni as the important member of their “big 3”, and shipped Kuzma out for draft capital, we would be in a much better spot. This Kuzma injury has forced Unseld to actually play Deni, this is a very predictable result.

While I agree that the absence of Kuzma has brought out the best in Deni, I'm not convinced that Deni couldn't have done this with Kuzma around. Deni has often been given the role of secondary ball-handler, certainly on the many occasions when one of Beal/Porzingis/Kuzma has been out. But in the past, Deni has deferred, giving up shots and making the extra pass almost to a fault rather than taking it to the rim himself. Now he suddenly has more confidence and is being more aggressive.

I believe that extra confidence has come while Kuzma is out because Deni knows there really isn't anyone else to fill the role. But I don't agree that he hasn't had the opportunity before. The team has practically been begging Deni to be more aggressive. I don't think there's any reason Deni can't continue with this higher usage rate even after Kuzma returns.

I agree with both points. I think the Wiz would be better served going with Deni then paying Kumza + getting assets for Kuz (although that ship may have sailed). And I see no reason that Deni will now lose his confidence.

[Wizraeli]

But I don't agree that he hasn't had the opportunity before. The team has practically been begging Deni to be more aggressive.

It's a case where both claims can be right, Deni wasn't aggressive enough but at the same time the team also didn't used him properly, maybe they begged him to be more aggressive with words, but not with actions on the court, until the Rui trade Deni was ranked 8th in passes received, in the period after the trade he jumped 2 places to 6th, and interestingly, before the trade, out of the players who played the same amount of minutes as Deni or more, the 2 players that received the least passes were Deni and Kispert, which hints at how the Wizards tried to play with Deni.


Obviously it's a chicken and an egg thing, Deni isn't confident, so his teammates doesn't trust him, he feels it and become less confident and then his teammates trust him even less and the circle continues, I've said it in real time, the main problem was both his confidence and how he was used, he's not a 3&D but the Wizards tried to use him as such for 2 years, the Rui trade together with Sheppard's public support in Deni, the Wizards playing with him more as a secondary playmaker 4, his aggressiveness and probably also the healthier locker room all contributed to his latest improvement, let's just hope it will continue.

[Kanyewest]

Deni has been much more aggressive even before Kuzma was out. Probably when Rui was traded. I have a feeling that the Wizards were trying to showcase Rui more at times in an effort to trade him which may have costed Deni some minutes (and even Gafford in some cases) and perhaps even Deni's role on the offense. The only real dud that Deni had was in the Portland game and t looks like he responded well off that adversity.

[nate33]

Deni has been much more aggressive even before Kuzma was out. Probably when Rui was traded. I have a feeling that the Wizards were trying to showcase Rui more at times in an effort to trade him which may have costed Deni some minutes (and even Gafford in some cases) and perhaps even Deni's role on the offense. The only real dud that Deni had was in the Portland game and t looks like he responded well off that adversity.

This is an important point. I don't want a false narrative to develop that Deni blossomed the moment Kuzma got hurt. Deni turned it on offensively about 6 games before Kuzma got hurt.

He had 15 points and 11 FTA attempts in the Dallas game on January 24th.
He had his career high of 25 points against San Antonio on January 31st.
He scored 23 at Brooklyn on February 4th.

Kuzma didn't sit out until February 6th.

As Kanyewest points out, the timing of Deni's breakout corresponded to the trade of Rui. Rui was traded after the game against Orlando on January 21st. Maybe Deni took it as a sign of confidence in him, which game him more confidence in himself. But I don't think there was any real change in his role. It's not like Deni was told to play the same role that Hachimura had. Hachimura was a pure catch-and-shoot finisher, the exact opposite of Deni.

[9 and 20]

I remember last year, when for no reason at all, they started playing Thomas Bryant and benched Gafford. I guess they were trying to showcase him for a trade or whatever. He was garbaaaage and ended up leaving for nothing, going to the Lakers who then dumped him again.

What does that have to do with Deni and the Rui trade? No idea, other than that the group of clowns running the show are making things up as they go along. The goal is to stay out of the cellar and remain employed and that's about it.

[doclinkin]

To hear Deni tell it, somewhere around the Rui trade an unnamed teammate pulled him aside and made it clear he needed to be more aggressive. From that point he turned it up.

Watch on YouTube

[Wizraeli]

To add to that, in an Hebrew interview to Sport 5 he said what Sheppard has said helped his confidence, as well as a switch he did in his head, I can give a link to the video but, well, it's in Hebrew.

I don't want a false narrative to develop that Deni blossomed the moment Kuzma got hurt

I think Kuzma is actually one of the main players that involved Deni more in the offense, I remember Deni missing a 3 in one of the games and a moment later Kuzma insisted on passing Deni again for a 3 which this time got in, I don't know if it's possible to check that statistically, but to me it feels like both Kuzma and Beal involved Deni in the offense much more since the trade, and overall the team just moves the ball much more instead of relying on idiotic iso plays.

[arusinov]

Deni has been much more aggressive even before Kuzma was out. Probably when Rui was traded. I have a feeling that the Wizards were trying to showcase Rui more at times in an effort to trade him which may have costed Deni some minutes (and even Gafford in some cases) and perhaps even Deni's role on the offense. The only real dud that Deni had was in the Portland game and t looks like he responded well off that adversity.

This is an important point. I don't want a false narrative to develop that Deni blossomed the moment Kuzma got hurt. Deni turned it on offensively about 6 games before Kuzma got hurt.

He had 15 points and 11 FTA attempts in the Dallas game on January 24th.
He had his career high of 25 points against San Antonio on January 31st.
He scored 23 at Brooklyn on February 4th.

Kuzma didn't sit out until February 6th.

As Kanyewest points out, the timing of Deni's breakout corresponded to the trade of Rui. Rui was traded after the game against Orlando on January 21st. Maybe Deni took it as a sign of confidence in him, which game him more confidence in himself. But I don't think there was any real change in his role. It's not like Deni was told to play the same role that Hachimura had. Hachimura was a pure catch-and-shoot finisher, the exact opposite of Deni.

Change certainly happened around Rui's trade time.
After Kuz got hurt Deni played a bit more time per game than in whole period since Rui's trade: 32.2 min vs 29.8 min
But his USG% was a bit lower in those games: 18.7% vs 19.8%
Still he scored a bit more 16.0 ppg vs 15.3 ppg
Because his TS% in those 3 games was great 69.5% vs just good 62.3% in all 9 games span

[DCZards]

I think Kuzma is actually one of the main players that involved Deni more in the offense, I remember Deni missing a 3 in one of the games and a moment later Kuzma insisted on passing Deni again for a 3 which this time got in, I don't know if it's possible to check that statistically, but to me it feels like both Kuzma and Beal involved Deni in the offense much more since the trade, and overall the team just moves the ball much more instead of relying on idiotic iso plays.

Seems to me that three of Deni's biggest fans are KP, Kuz and Beal. It's not unusual to see one of them coaching and encouraging him during timeouts and other breaks in action.

[Wizraeli]

Seems to me that three of Deni's biggest fans are KP, Kuz and Beal. It's not unusual to see one of them coaching and encouraging him during timeouts and other breaks in action.

I agree, as well as Gill, I think they supported him for a long time, but mainly with words and off the court actions, I didn't see it on the court very much from Beal and Kuzma(but did saw it from KP), after the trade things are much different, maybe it's the talk with the unknown teammates, but I also really think the trade and Sheppard's publicly supporting Deni made a switch also in Wes and the other players minds that Deni is here to stay and is an important piece of the team's future.

[DCZards]

Seems to me that three of Deni's biggest fans are KP, Kuz and Beal. It's not unusual to see one of them coaching and encouraging him during timeouts and other breaks in action.

I agree, as well as Gill, I think they supported him for a long time, but mainly with words and off the court actions, I didn't see it on the court very much from Beal and Kuzma(but did saw it from KP), after the trade things are much different, maybe it's the talk with the unknown teammates, but I also really think the trade and Sheppard's publicly supporting Deni made a switch also in Wes and the other players minds that Deni is here to stay and is an important piece of the team's future.

The interaction that I’m talking about between Deni and Beal, Kuz and KP often takes place during timeouts. It’s not something that can be seen on TV. It was going on well before the trade.

[Wizraeli]

The interaction that I’m talking about between Deni and Beal, Kuz and KP often takes place during timeouts. It’s not something that can be seen on TV. It was going on well before the trade.

And I agreed with you that it was happening long before the trade, I said that after the trade they also showed it more on the court.

[prime1time]

If Avdija can continue this level of production, he deserves an opportunity to be on a team where the offense runs through him on a consistent basis. If the Wizards can't provide that opportunity - and it looks increasingly like they will not be able to - then he should go elsewhere.

This makes no sense.

Up until the last 9 games, Avdija looked totally incapable of being a guy "where the offense runs through him on a consistent basis". He was (and is) way too turnover prone, and he didn't finish efficiently enough around the rim. What he could do was be a secondary ball handler running weak-side pick-and-rolls after the primary actions got the defense out of position. And for most of this year and half of last, he has had the opportunity to do that. But at no point along the way, has there been any reason to believe that Wes or the rest of the organization has done Deni a disservice by not running the offense through him. He didn't deserve it.

In the past few games, Deni has been more aggressive, attacking the cup whenever the defense is just the slightest bit out of position. That opportunity has always been there, but Deni wasn't taking it because he wasn't confident enough in his ability to finish. His USG% was 15.5% over his first 45 games. In his last 8 games, it's 21.0%. That's great. Deni is finally seizing the opportunity. It looks like he is being developed nicely by the organization. I don't see any problem whatsoever.

Lol, did you not see that I started my post with "If."

[prime1time]

People on this board just like to criticize me for the sake of criticizing me. 61 games into the season Avdija is shooting 28.6%. When you take out the two games in February where he went 4-9 and 3-5, he's actually shooting 26.7% from 3.

[prime1time]

If Avdija can continue this level of production, he deserves an opportunity to be on a team where the offense runs through him on a consistent basis. If the Wizards can't provide that opportunity - and it looks increasingly like they will not be able to - then he should go elsewhere.

This makes no sense.

Up until the last 9 games, Avdija looked totally incapable of being a guy "where the offense runs through him on a consistent basis". He was (and is) way too turnover prone, and he didn't finish efficiently enough around the rim. What he could do was be a secondary ball handler running weak-side pick-and-rolls after the primary actions got the defense out of position. And for most of this year and half of last, he has had the opportunity to do that. But at no point along the way, has there been any reason to believe that Wes or the rest of the organization has done Deni a disservice by not running the offense through him. He didn't deserve it.

In the past few games, Deni has been more aggressive, attacking the cup whenever the defense is just the slightest bit out of position. That opportunity has always been there, but Deni wasn't taking it because he wasn't confident enough in his ability to finish. His USG% was 15.5% over his first 45 games. In his last 8 games, it's 21.0%. That's great. Deni is finally seizing the opportunity. It looks like he is being developed nicely by the organization. I don't see any problem whatsoever.

Lol, did you not see that I started my post with "If."

And I stand by my statement. As soon as the Wizard's big 3 came back, Avdija's role diminished and his performance declined. There is no future for Avdija on this team. Just like the other 3 or 4 forwards, we've drafted in recent history. Avdija deserves a team where he can get a genuine opportunity.

[CntOutSmrtCrazy]

People on this board just like to criticize me for the sake of criticizing me. 61 games into the season Avdija is shooting 28.6%. When you take out the two games in February where he went 4-9 and 3-5, he's actually shooting 26.7% from 3.

If you take out his 2 worst game in December where he was 1-5 and 1-8, he's actually shooting 29%. See what I did there.

[prime1time]

People on this board just like to criticize me for the sake of criticizing me. 61 games into the season Avdija is shooting 28.6%. When you take out the two games in February where he went 4-9 and 3-5, he's actually shooting 26.7% from 3.

If you take out his 2 worst game in December where he was 1-5 and 1-8, he's actually shooting 29%. See what I did there.

How about this, because clearly, I'm so biased, what do you think Avdija's future on the Wizards is?