Portland Trail Blazers All-Star forward Deni Avdija looked good in his return to action Sunday night at the Moda Center. After a six-game absence due to a lingering back injury, Avdija jumped back into the starting lineup and produced 18 points, eight assists and five rebounds to help the Blazers dispatch the Indiana Pacers 131-111.
Avdija got his numbers while shooting 6-16 from the floor and 0-4 from the 3-point lineup. But, more important than efficiency, the 6-foot-8 forward attacked the paint
again with the physical, fast downhill force that has become his calling card. That force led Avdija to four and-1 finishes against Indiana and a 6-6 mark from the free throw line.
“I think this was the first time since he was healthy that he was not scared to attack the rim,” Blazers head coach Tiago Splitter said. “He played with force, getting those and-1s, getting to the paint, going left, going right, feeling himself again. So it’s good to see him progressing there.”
Following the win, Avdija spoke with reporters in the postgame locker room about his performance in the return, among other topics.
Avdija on how he would evaluate his return:
I was just focusing on not having any back pain and kinda like being smooth with my game. I still gotta get back in rhythm a little bit. I’ve been in and out of games so much since January, so stack a couple nice games now in March and April and really see how I feel, but it’s a good step.
On if he has to change anything while he’s on the court because of the back injury:
So that’s the thing. You don’t want to change anything. You don’t want to change your movement because you’re having some sort of pain or discomfort. You just want to be out there free and do your moves and create contact and do the things I do, without even thinking about the back. But as I said, my target right now is to stack games and be in game rhythm to get to the money time with some good rhythm and some good condition.
On what he thought of Scoot Henderson’s performance in the win:
I know he’s capable of that. I’ve been playing with him for a while. I loved his confidence. I loved his ability to keep shooting, keep playing. He didn’t play the whole season, and people forget it. And it’s very, very hard to jump right into a team you haven’t played with. … You’ve gotta be patient. I think today was a good step for him, and it’s about just stacking days and stacking games right now for him. But we’re not surprised.
Avdija, Scoot and the Blazers have a chance to stack another good game on Tuesday night when they take on the Charlotte Hornets at the Moda Center.
