Isn’t life so much easier for the Portland Trail Blazers when a healthy Deni Avdija suits up?
After a four-game absence, Portland’s All-Star returned from a bad back on Monday — looking much more like himself — and the Blazers routed the Philadelphia 76ers 135-118 at the Moda Center for their third consecutive win.
“He’s an All-Star for a reason,” said Blazers forward Toumani Camara, the other big standout from Monday’s win.
With Avdija back at the controls to produce 26 points, 10 rebounds and eight
assists, his teammates filled into their natural roles and the offense hummed smoothly again. Camara lit up the scoreboard with a career-high 30 points on 8-10 shooting from beyond the 3-point arc. Guard Scoot Henderson was back pushing the pace to register 12 points and seven assists. Veterans Jerami Grant and Jrue Holiday spotted up on the 3-point line, while Holiday also dished out seven assists. Sprinkle in a combined five 3-pointers from centers Donovan Clingan and Robert Williams III, and the Blazers looked like an unstoppable, unified force.
They whipped the ball around and made extra passes. They pushed the ball in transition and infiltrated the paint. And they capitalized on the open shots they created, shooting 22-54 from deep and almost 50% from the field with 36 assists.
Monday’s performance was a night-and-day contrast from the Blazers who lost six straight recently while Avdija was either out or clearly hampered by his lower back strain. This was more like the Blazers who caught fire at the start of January. With most of their main pieces back and healthy (save for Shaedon Sharpe, who was out with calf soreness), this was closer to how the Blazers expected to play all season.
“We had a fast team on the court with Deni, Jrue kicking out, Scoot,” Splitter said. “The speed just helps us get to our spots, and they had to shrink, and of course, we made shots. But Deni just brings that energy once he gets the ball. He hits the ‘turbo,’ and [the defense] had to shrink. If not, it’s a layup or an open 3. So it was good to see that group playing. That was kind of like the type of basketball we envisioned from the beginning of the season.”
“A lot easier,“ Blazers center Donovan Clingan said about life with Avdija on the court. ”He draws a lot of attention. He moves the ball. He’s passing. He’s getting downhill and finding open guys. It’s a lot of fun. As guys start trickling back and getting healthy, it’s gonna be a lot more fun out there.“
Avdija provided a quick reminder of his immense impact against Philadelphia. The 6-foot-9 forward scored or assisted on Portland’s first 11 points. While he said after the game he was a little winded and rusty in his return, it was clear his back was feeling much better following the time off.
“100%,” Avdija said about whether he felt a difference in his mobility on the court. “The difference between the New York and Washington games to now, it’s like I can’t even explain to you guys how much looser I move. Credit to the medical staff for helping me also save myself from me wanting to play. It was a necessary break for me, and now I’m good, my back is good, and [I can] continue going forward.”
“I didn’t expect him to be this aggressive after being out for awhile,” Splitter added. “ … I was happy just with the shape that he came back with and the mindset of attacking the rim again.”
Avdija had a relatively quiet scoring first half with just 10 points, but he and his teammates broke out in the third quarter. He scored 12 points in the quarter, including a 10-point burst in the opening three minutes that got him over 20 for the game in a blink. Meanwhile, Camara’s 3-point party kept going, as he laced three more triples to reach his 30 points and eight made 3s before the quarter wrapped. As a team, the Blazers made 20 of their 22 3s before the fourth quarter. Eight of those came during the third, as the Blazers poured it on the Joel Embiid-less 76ers and broke the game open with a 49-22 quarter. That marked the most points the Blazers scored in a quarter all season.
“It was good to see — that aggressiveness, getting into the paint and spraying the ball out, staying connected on offense and passing the ball to each other,” Splitter said. “ … I think it was one of the best games we had just sharing the ball and looking for shots.”
“The third quarter, even though Philly came out a little bit flat, I feel like that’s the energy and intensity that we need to approach every game from the jump,” Camara added. “I think when we do that, we’re a really hard team to beat, especially with all these players available. It gives us a lot of chance to beat anybody.”
This Blazers’ season has been fraught with high peaks and deep valleys as they’ve wrestled with health issues since before training camp began. If Monday’s hot-shooting performance was any indication, the return of Avdija and others means this team is rounding out of its slump and trending upward again. With a record of 26-28, the Blazers have two more games and a chance to get to .500 before this weekend’s All-Star Break. Then — knock on wood — they could hit the stretch run with the best health they’ve had all season.
“We’re very dangerous,” Avdija said. “And I think that was what we looked at at the beginning of the year and how talented we are and how together we play and how everybody here is giving their effort at 100%. And that’s what winning teams do. And I think there is a capability for a very, very good team here.”
