How Deni Avdija Is Making Portland's Biggest Offseason Fear Look Foolish

Avdija Silences Doubts as Blazers Find a New Rhythm

“I want you to be the horse.” That’s how Damian Lillard put it to Deni Avdija, a simple, powerful message that cuts through all the noise of Portland’s chaotic offseason. Seven games in, the answer isn’t that Avdija had to sacrifice his game. It’s that Portland may have found a way to make his job easier.

The concern was logical and immediate. Last season, Avdija became the engine for Portland, averaging 24.2 points and 6.7 assists while running the offense. With two elite ball-handlers now in the fold, it seemed inevitable that his touches and opportunities would shrink. Something, as Yahoo Sports noted, had to give. What gave wasn’t his scoring output. The most significant change, however, has come in his efficiency with the ball.

His turnovers, a key area of concern, have plummeted. After averaging 3.8 giveaways per game last season, Avdija is now at just 2.3. This isn't a minor statistical dip; it's a meaningful shift in how he's playing defense. The Athletic, via Jason Quick, reported that this evolution was part of a deliberate plan. Avdija approached new head coach Micah Nori shortly after the Morant trade, openly wondering how he could coexist with two accomplished guards. Nori’s solution was to use the defensive attention drawn by Lillard and Morant to create advantages for Avdija, rather than repeatedly asking him to attack a set defense head-on.

Deni Avdija Postgame Interview | Portland Trail Blazers 132, Phoenix Suns 119 | Nov. 4, 2026

The Strategy Behind the Numbers

This approach is a clever piece of schematic design. Instead of forcing Avdija to be the primary initiator against a set defense, the Blazers can now get him the ball after defenders have already been forced to react to the team’s star guards. It’s a subtle but crucial difference that explains the early returns. Lillard’s “be the horse” mantra reinforces this philosophy; the team isn’t looking to reduce his role, but to redefine it for maximum collective impact. The strategy is paying off. While his assists have dipped slightly from 6.7 to 6.4 and his true shooting percentage is down, the overall picture points to a more efficient and sustainable version of the player who carried them last year.

The national conversation is already taking notice. In his November 4 NBA power rankings, SB Nation’s Ricky O’Donnell ranked the Blazers eighth and offered a bold assessment of their forward. “Deni Avdija is killing it, and at this point has to be considered one of the game’s best forwards,” O’Donnell wrote. It’s a significant shift in perception from just a few months ago, when the central question was whether Avdija could maintain his production alongside the new stars. Now, a national writer is openly debating his place among the league’s elite.

How Deni Avdija Is Making Portland's Biggest Offseason Fear Look Foolish — Photo: ca.sports.yahoo.com

Of course, this entire analysis comes with a massive asterisk. Ja Morant, the other piece of this high-stakes puzzle, is currently sidelined with a hamstring injury. As Yahoo Sports points out, Nori has barely had any time to explore what this complete backcourt can accomplish. Eventually, Morant will return, the possessions will become harder to divide, and the defensive schemes Avdija currently benefits from will become more complex. The Blazers haven’t yet proven this arrangement can work over a full 82-game season against every team in the league.

But the early returns are fascinating because they suggest Portland shouldn’t be trying to turn Avdija into a lesser version of himself. The goal, as the strategy indicates, should be to make his job easier without taking away what made him so effective. He’s still scoring at an elite level, but he’s doing so with fewer costly mistakes. The fear was that adding Morant and Lillard would take away from Avdija. If coach Nori gets this right, the most important thing they take away might just be the burden of having to do it all himself.