After he hobbled into the Portland Trail Blazers locker room on Sunday amid obvious pain, Deni Avdija made an emotional pledge.
“I’m a tough guy,” he said after tweaking his low back in a loss to the New York Knicks. “I’m going to be all right. … I’m telling you, as soon as I’m walking on two feet, I’ll be able to play.”
But he won’t play Tuesday night.
The standout point-forward has been ruled out of the Blazers’ next game — a nationally-televised matchup against the Golden State Warriors at Chase Center — with lower back soreness.
Avdija tweaked his back with less than two minutes remaining Sunday when he leaped in pursuit of a rebound in traffic against the Knicks. Avdija corralled the rebound and appeared to land normally on two feet, but instantly reached toward the left side of his lower back in noticeable pain.
The Blazers called a timeout and Avdija stumbled off the court toward the team’s training room for medical observation.
After the game, he wore a wrap around his low back and labored around the locker room in discernible discomfort. Avdija was unable to bend over to remove his socks and he conducted a postgame interview while standing because he couldn’t sit down.
Despite how harsh it looked, Avdija said he was “not really concerned” and insisted the ailment was “nothing major.”
When asked if that was a medical diagnosis or his own, Avdija smiled.
“That’s the doctor-plus-Deni evaluation,” he said. “The Deni optimism evaluation.”
But it turns out the injury is significant enough that he will miss his first game of the season, leaving the Blazers without a rising star who has been their best and most consistent player this season.
Avdija is averaging 26.1 points, 7.1 rebounds and 7.0 assists, while shooting 47% from the field. He’s one of three players in the NBA averaging at least 25.0 points, 7.0 rebounds and 6.0 assists, joining All-Stars Nikola Jokic and Luka Doncic, and he’s the only player who ranks among the top five in the league in both points (1,043) and assists (276).
Avdija has played more minutes (1,414) than any player this season.
But he won’t play any Tuesday and the Blazers will be hard-pressed to make up for his loss.
The good news is that All-Star point guard Jrue Holiday returned from a 27-game injury absence against the Knicks, giving the Blazers’ rotation a traditional point guard for the first time since Nov. 14. The bad news is that Holiday is being eased back into the fold off the bench under a minutes-restriction — he played just 16 on Sunday — so his availability will be limited.
It’s unclear how long Avdija will be sidelined — evaluation of his injury is ongoing — but his absence is the latest setback for a team that has endured a ridiculous amount of injuries.
Eleven Blazers players have combined to miss 219 games this season.