Portland Trail Blazers forward Deni Avdija is playing his best basketball of the season at the right time.
The Blazers, two games out of the final play-in position in the Western Conference, received 31 points on 9-of-18 shooting from Avdija during Wednesday night’s 115-99 win over the Memphis Grizzles. He also grabbed a season-high 16 rebounds and had eight assists.
Avdija has put together his best five-game scoring stretch this season, totaling 136 points with a high of 34 coming March 10 during a loss at Golden State.
He tallied those points by shooting 52.8% from the field and 55.6% from three-point range.
This is also his best five-game rebounding stretch of the season (59), and he has produced 27 assists, which is tied for his highest during a five-game stretch.
His 22 turnovers were a problem. But nobody’s perfect.
Against the Grizzlies, Avdija scored 10 points in the first quarter to ensure that the Blazers started strong against a team that buried them early in both previous meetings, resulting in blowout losses.
“Deni, he was incredible in that first half,” Blazers coach Chauncey Billups said. “He really was. Just the force that he plays with. It has you on your heels. And he’s able to finish ... He’s just a very, very difficult cover. And when we play fast and we rebound, and we kind of get out there and just kind of hoop, he’s dangerous. I thought we hopped on his shoulders in that first half.”
The Blazers (31-39) trail Dallas (33-37) and Phoenix (33-37) by two games. To reach the postseason, the Blazers need players like Avdija to be reliable go-to scorers.
Memphis Grizzlies v Portland Trail Blazers
Deni Avdija #8 of the Portland Trail Blazers shoots during the first half against the Memphis Grizzlies at Moda Center on March 19, 2025 in Portland, Oregon. (Photo by Soobum Im/Getty Images)Getty Images
“I’m just thinking about being aggressive,” Avdija said. “The shots fell for me today. I was shooting pretty good today. That was one of the reasons.”
But Avdija has never been purely about offense.
“Setting the tone, first of all, defensively, for sure,” he added. “On the glass. It’s one of the biggest strengths of mine, is just being on the glass and help my team. And just making the right play. I feel like we’re so talented as a team, and everybody can go off on any day.”
Avdija scored 26 points in the first half before being limited to five in the second half on 2-of-8 shooting. But instead of forcing his shot in the second half, Avdija became a more aggressive rebounder and distributor.
“He did the right things,” Billups said. “He made the right plays. He made the right passes. He still was aggressive, knowing that they were going to be loading up on him. I thought he made some good reads.”
Avdija had 11 rebounds and four assists in the second half.
“I think it’s more making the right play, getting rebounds, going in transition, make a right pass,” Avdija said. “I think that’s more setting the tone for me than scoring a basket.”
The Blazers lost the first two games against the Grizzlies by a combined score of 187-257. Avdija said he has a short memory when it comes to losses. He just knew Memphis had been a problem for the Blazers.
“I didn’t really remember how bad we lost,” he said. “Honestly, I just wanted to beat them.”
And he helped make that happen.
-- Aaron Fentress | afentress@Oregonian.com | @AaronJFentress (Twitter), @AaronJFentress (Instagram), @AaronFentress (Facebook)