Portland Trail Blazers swingman Deni Avdija had one of his worst games of the season during the team’s 127-97 road defeat against the New York Knicks on Friday night, as the NBA All-Star hopeful only had 11 points, five rebounds, and three assists on 4-for-14 shooting from the field in 28 minutes of action.
After the game, Portland Trail Blazers interim head coach Tiago Splitter lamented the team’s poor performance. Along the way, he also indicated that Avdija may not have been 100 percent fit last night.
“We’ve got to get better,” Splitter told reporters via Joe Freeman of The Oregonian. “We’ve got to shake that off, watch film, get better, and play the game with more force and more purpose and more focus. They just were way better than us. Attacking the rim, shooting the ball, rebounding. Everything.”
“I don’t know if it’s mental. Physically, he’s not 100%. He’s not driving with the same force,” he said about Avdija’s fitness. “We know that we are way better than what we presented these last games. Like I said, we’re going to go home, figure it out.”
Portland Trail Blazers News: Deni Avdija opens up on his nagging back injury
Deni Avdija has missed five of the Portland Trail Blazers‘ past nine games due to a back injury. After missing their recent games against the Toronto Raptors and the Boston Celtics, the 25-year-old forward has failed to score at least 20 points in two consecutive games.
“Just to be honest, I’m just dealing with some stuff,” Avdija said. “I have the competitive nature and (am) just trying to be there for my teammates and compete and do whatever I can, but it’s something I’ve got to figure out with myself, my teammates, my coaches.”
“I can’t really say anything specific about my injury or what’s going on,” he continued. “I’ll leave it to the medical staff. I’m doing a good job of recovering and coming back, but I definitely, definitely don’t feel fluid right now. It went completely numb. I went to the locker room, and they checked on it and did a really good job, and I was ready to go for the second half.”
