The Portland Trail Blazers went 3-1 this week with wins over the New Orleans Pelicans, San Antonio Spurs and Utah Jazz. Those wins all followed a loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder to start the week.
While
the hot stretch for Portland saw many players step up at different times, there is one clear winner of this week’s Blazer of the Week: Deni Avdija.
I mentioned a few weeks back that Avdija could win the award every week, but I was shying away from that for the sake of variety. However, this week he could not be denied. He averaged 28.3 points, 9.3 assists and 8.0 rebounds per game this week, all while shooting 45.9% from the field and 44% from behind the arc.
Avdija’s ascension has continued to elevate the injured Blazers throughout this season, and this week he was instrumental in all three wins the Blazers earned. His ability to drive to the basket and either score himself or find an open shooter when the defense collapses is a key part of Portland’s offense.
Apart from the blowout loss to the Thunder, Avdija was also great at taking care of the ball. He had seven turnovers in Oklahoma City, then just six total through the next three games of the week. His play as a defacto point guard has improved throughout the season as he gets more and more comfortable in that role.
This impressive play, partnered with the Blazers grabbing some wins, earned Deni NBA Player of the Week honors for the Western Conference as well.
This week’s honorable mention is Donovan Clingan.
Clingan averaged 13.3 points, 12.3 rebounds and 1.8 assists per game this week while recording three double-doubles and shooting 58.3% from the field and 42.9% from three. His rebounding continues to be elite and his three-point shot looks good in the limited attempts. Eventually teams will stop leaving him wide open from deep, but until then, he has shown he can hit threes when the opportunity is there. A continued improvement on the offensive side of the ball makes him look better every week.
Which Blazer impressed you the most this week? Let us know in the comments below.
