Israeli NBA star Deni Avdija's great performances have become a regular occurrence but what the small forward has done in the past month in the NBA can only be described as an explosion.
Monday overnight Avdija again delivered a stellar performance, this time at Madison Square Garden, which Michael Jordan once called "the Mecca of basketball." He scored 33 points and grabbed seven rebounds — though unfortunately, it wasn’t enough to prevent Portland from losing 110-93 to the Knicks.
While the Trail Blazers' chances of making the play-in tournament seem slim, this does not diminish the fact that Avdija has been playing basketball on another level in March, putting him above some of the biggest names in the league.
Here are Avdija’s averages for the past month: 23.4 points per game (48.8% shooting from the field), 9.8 rebounds and 5.2 assists. These numbers place him 21st in the league for March, just ahead of Stephen Curry (who averages 0.4 more points per game) and just behind LeBron James (31st). Avdija also ranks among the top 20 in the league in minutes played, averaging 35.9 per game.
Other names below him in the list include Karl-Anthony Towns, Damian Lillard, Donovan Mitchell, DeMar DeRozan, Jamal Murray, Devin Booker, Tyler Herro, Kristaps Porzingis, RJ Barrett, Josh Giddey and Zach LaVine.
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These stats highlight Avdija's leap in performance after a standout season with Washington and a relatively slow start to his Portland tenure. His coach’s trust in him is reflected in his playing time and the prominent role he plays in managing the offense and creating opportunities for his teammates.
It's hard to remember that in Washington, there were long stretches where he was on the court without even receiving a pass on offense.
"Deni carried us on his back," said Billups after the game against the Knicks. "He delivered another great performance and was excellent throughout the game. He and Shaedon Sharpe led us while the rest of the players struggled."
The Blazers coach praised Avdija's performance all season long: "It's a pleasure to coach him; we have a great relationship. He's been excellent all season. I trust his decision-making with the ball. He's an excellent rebounder and when he grabs the ball and starts running, he outruns everyone.
"He’s improving from game to game but he’s still young and needs to learn more about the complexities of the game — we talk about it a lot. He’s made significant progress and I think he's one of the best players on our team."
Avdija himself looks towards the future of the Blazers: "I believe something big is developing here. I'm talking about the young guys — they’ve made a huge leap this year and I see it in practice. The season isn’t over yet but I’m proud of the young talent we have and there's a great future here."
Avdija's standout games in March:
• March 2: 30 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists (first career triple-double) in a 133-129 loss to Cleveland.
• March 11: 34 points and 16 rebounds in a 130-120 loss to Golden State.
• March 13: 27 points and 15 rebounds in a 114-113 loss to the Knicks.
• March 20: 31 points, 16 rebounds and 8 assists in a 99-115 win over Memphis.
• March 22: 36 points (season-high), 8 rebounds and 7 assists in a 108-129 win over Denver.
• March 28: 24 points and 9 rebounds in a 128-107 loss to Sacramento.
• March 31: 33 points and 7 rebounds in a 110-93 loss to the Knicks.