Developing Deni: The Double Drag Driver
Analyzing every possession of Washington Wizards third-year forward Deni Avdija from Tuesday night's 123-113 loss to the Milwaukee Bucks.
This is the fourth edition of my new player development series in which I study game film in hopes of assisting athletes around the NBA in unlocking their full potential while also educating NBA fans on the intricacies of becoming and remaining an impact player.
ICYMI
The Performance
12 points
4/7 FG
0/3 3P
4 rebounds
3 assists
1 steal
2 turnovers
-11
The Film
Clip Counter: 15
First Quarter
Good job here by Deni Avdija staying connected defensively.
Lucky bounces of the basketball only happen to those in position to be the beneficiary of said luck.
One dribble, look up, then a perfect outlet pass to a hard-to-miss Kristaps Porzingis for the easy two.
As I mentioned in my previous “Developing Deni,” Avdija has a knack for pressuring defenses with his speed and vision in transition, which is on display here.
Last DD, I mentioned Avdija needing to cut more on offense. Here, he does a good job of filling the lane in transition.
Monte Morris’ pass gets tipped by Jrue Holiday so nothing comes of Avdija’s efforts.
It would have been interesting to see what Avdija’s next move would have been if this pass did get through because Bucks rookie, MarJon Beauchamp does a good job matching up in transition and beats Avdija to a spot.
Another good job filling the lane here on the fast break and putting himself in position to get a high-percentage shot at the rim.
Avdija’s looked off by Kyle Kuzma here. Possibly because Bobby Portis is on his back, but I believe Avdija could’ve finished on the right side of the rim upon receiving the pass — using the rim as an assistant to hinder Portis from a true contest.
Here, Avdija hops to close out on Beauchamp, rather than keeping his feet underneath him and closing out under control.
This puts Avdija out of position to contest the drive to the best of his ability — he’s now playing catch up.
Rui Hachimura does a good job helping off Portis to eliminate Beauchamp easily getting to the basket for a layup. However, Beauchamp still stops and pops for a routine free throw line middy.
Side note: Good IQ and execution from Beauchamp here.
Second Quarter
Avdija’s been most successful this season when driving immediately after the catch. This is playing the game with a scorer's mentality — the part of his game that needs to be unlocked the most.
While many have exclaimed for more left-handedness at the rim from Avdija (which he has shown this year) the right-hand finish here was strong and pleasant — it actually threw defensive player of the year candidate, Brook Lopez off. You can tell by Lopez swatting on the left side of the rim. Was the right-hand finish by design or simply preference? Either way, it worked.
Avdija here has to decide how he wants to defend Giannis Antetokounmpo on the inbound. Either he’s going to stay in front, denying Antetokounmpo from receiving the pass, or stay on his back, not allowing him to get an easy drive to the basket.
The right answer on this possession is to stay on Antetokounmpo’s backside because there’s zero help behind Avdija.
He’s caught in between here and Antetokounmpo’s wingspan is too long to try to steal an inbound pass from this position. Avdija could probably get away with that when matched up with smaller wings and guards.
Ultimately, it’s unfortunate that Kristaps Porzingis’ lack of defense, at his size, forces the 6-foot-9 Avdija to match up with Antetokounmpo in the first place. What’s the point in having 7-footers that don’t contribute to guarding their position? That is a minimum requirement in basketball. Guard your position.
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