Deni Avdija Is A STAR Hidden In Plain Sight

Deni Avdija Is A STAR Hidden In Plain Sight

denny Avdia had a slow start to the 2025 NBA season but then he turned it around and put together a strong year emerging into the territory of a borderline all-star at the moment he is one of the more underrated players in the league and I think one of the thing that pops the most of Denny’s game is his rim pressure he put up 17 points four assists 7.3 rebounds on 60% true shooting solid efficiency and Denny operates at a 44% frequency when attacking the rim and shoots 65% from there for being a guy who is 69 240 lbs he is a big forward and also a very quick forward with his burst in a lot of his attacks to the rim you see that burst he gets attacking in a straight line and he gets low and stays on balance through traffic and doesn’t get moved much by contact denny is a tremendous transition attacker something he has done since his time in Washington with the amount of boards he recovers he can just grab the board and go and be a one-man army in the fast break it’s a valuable skill to have and a needed skill to have for this Blazers team who does struggle to create consistent highlevel shots in the half court denny is a bigger body just trucking at you in transition and he can also change directions fluidly which keeps defenders on their heels he can get into some behind the backs or push crosses to change directions and blow by the defense on his way to the cup and then he has some slow step finishes he can lean into to slow down his momentum draw fouls or throw off the defense he is very stable and on balance when he initiates contact with bumps when going to the cup he put up a careerhigh in free throw attempts this year at 5.2 free throws a game along with his transition game his closeout attack game is also really strong the threat of his jump shot off the catch makes defenders close out and respect his shot a bit he shoots 35% off the catch it’s not great but it’s still respectable for defenses he prefers driving right when attacking a rotating defense and his burst and getting low to the ground with his dribble as well as him needing minimal dribbles and open space to get to the bucket helps out a ton in his downhill game he has a variety of low and high gallers to swerve by the defense and as well as some slide by moves i’m really impressed all around with how his driving game has come along because he is very crafty with his moves the change of directions deceleration he isn’t always going 100 fast to the basket that deceleration he taps into adds another element in his driving game that makes him unpredictable when going to the cup a guy that size moving that quick who can also bump you create contact slide by you change directions slow down his speed that is just a recipe for a constant problem for defenses when he gets going downhill he does struggle dribbling through tight gaps in the defense when they wall up or have multiple hands out there against him he thrives more in situations where it’s one-on-one beat one defender and then meets another he struggles when the defense is set loaded up and against him and he has to make quicker decisions and spot a teammate better in those situations his handle is really solid and it helps in putting together his moves but it can also get much more tighter he can work more on his handle he doesn’t just attack defenses in a straight line he can change directions create new angles to attack and create shots for himself at that rim which is a very good sign for someone his age but it’s just navigating the tight spaces for him that he has to get better at i think the biggest thing for him right now is just developing more of that mid-range game the teams are defending Avia knowing his main goal is going to be attacking the rim so a lot of that gap help is going to be active in detering that this is where he could fall back on pull-up jumpers step back jumpers floaters or even developing more in the post for face up jumpers or fadeaway shots i think that post-up game would be beneficial given his size and strength and especially if he could get smaller guys on him it would immediately bend the defense the mid-range and post it just adds more into a scoring game and something defenses have to scheme more against him he operates at a 22% frequency in the mid-range which is basically an area that isn’t existent for him defenses can just challenge him and go under his screens or sag off of him a bit to see if he will actually shoot denny has dipped a bit into some pull-up three-point shooting at a low volume but shot 40% off the dribble threes he shoots a fair volume overall from three but the next development going into next season is just punishing defenses with that jumper in the mid-range and from three the threat of his shot is going to put defenses in a tough position to choose whether they give up the drive or shot and that’s one of the best positions you can be in as an offensive player because at that point you could dictate the defense at all times so just continuing to improve on that threat of his shot to keep defenders really honest is a key development he shoots 78% from the free throw line and it wouldn’t surprise me next season if he can average like a seven free throw attempts a game or more a game because he does put constant pressure at the rim and his physicality and battling defenders who is being physical creates foul opportunities now his driving game does need work mostly in terms of creating for teammates and that in between game he isn’t the quickest court processor his pass accuracy can be better tons of just careless or offtarget passes thrown and he could be prone into dribbling into traffic or stalling out his dribble which makes him vulnerable to getting stripped or put in tough positions to make a pass generating turnovers he averaged 2.7 turnovers a game while averaging four assists a game his usage is also increasing yearbyear and within this Blazers young core he is a guy leaned on to make a lot more decisions so you kind of want to see that 2.7 turnovers dip down a bit and take care of the ball more he’s a solid playmaker but there’s definitely another level of processing he can get into when defense is really channel in on him and force him to make tough decisions he’s getting comfortable as a pick and roll operator jailing defenders and getting into the bodies of the big and attacking staying patient in these situations to see if a teammate gets open and making that pass hitting lobs and kickout passes as mentioned before he likes driving right so if a screen is set for him going left he really likes utilizing jabs to fake the drive left into the screen and burst to the rim going right defensively Denny is good on ball really active on ball he is big enough to keep up with stronger bigger wings and also shows some solid foot speed to keep in front of lighter quicker players and stay physical with those guys his defensive stance is more so upright he doesn’t really get too low prioritizing keeping that ball in front at all times and he is able to move his hips fluidly to keep up with change of direction moves he isn’t very handsy as a player or quick with noticing when to poke the ball but he does do a good job in absorbing hits to the chest and playing through it off ball he does slip on that end and but he’s still serviceable but he isn’t the most sound when rotating he can be slow on noticing when to rotate over and come over to help there’s periods where you can see him just relaxed and ball watching not really engaged off ball and he’s not really paying attention to his man i’ve seen this countless times with him but overall I think Denny is a strong capable on ball player with flashes of shooting playmaking rebounding and on ball defensive presence which makes him a very interesting young player who has shown to get better year after year that’ll wrap it up for this breakdown of Denny Avia if you enjoyed the video please do give it a like and subscribe 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Deni Avdija Is A STAR Hidden In Plain Sight

Deni Avdija is a bright piece on a growing Portland Trail Blazers team. Deni’s rim pressure, capable ball handler in pick and roll, capable shooter and on ball defender are all tools that makes him special.

Stats Used
PBPstats.com
Cleaningtheglass.com
basketball-reference.com
NBAstats

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