Deni Avdija is no longer just fitting in with the Portland Trail Blazers. He is driving them. Through a 5-1 start, he has become the team’s clear offensive focus, leading Portland in minutes, points and assists per game while putting up 23.8 points, 6.2 rebounds and 5.5 assists a night.
That role was on display in the opening game against the Phoenix Suns, when the Blazers rolled to a 124-83 win and Avdija finished with 10 rebounds, four assists and two steals. Damian Lillard scored 25 points in that game, and Ja Morant went 6-for-8 from the field, but Avdija still shaped the result in ways that do not show up in a single line of numbers.
That is why the search around Portland Trail Blazers vs Phoenix Suns match player stats keeps circling back to him. The stat line is impressive enough on its own, but it does not tell the full story of how he is being used. His usage rate is nearly 29%, and he has shown a different version of himself from game to game, adjusting to what Portland needs rather than waiting for the game to come to him.
The same pattern showed up again on Monday night against Denver. Avdija scored 29 points and added five assists in a 118-110 win, took a season-high 22 shots and finished with nine points and three assists in the fourth quarter. When Portland needed a steady scorer late, he was the one carrying the offense.
That makes the bigger point hard to ignore. Despite the arrival of Damian Lillard and Ja Morant, Avdija has remained the Blazers’ undisputed top guy. Morant is now sidelined for at least a month after a hamstring injury, which only sharpens the question of how much of this role can be shared once the roster is whole again. For now, the answer is already on the floor: Portland is winning with Avdija at the center of everything.
