{"id":73919,"date":"2022-12-05T07:46:01","date_gmt":"2022-12-05T07:46:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportsrabbi.com\/?p=73919"},"modified":"2024-11-03T09:31:10","modified_gmt":"2024-11-03T09:31:10","slug":"deni-avdija-is-being-dared-to-shoot-and-may-need-to-adjust-his-approach-on-offense-as-he-and-wizards-slump","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sportsrabbi.com\/en\/deni-avdija-is-being-dared-to-shoot-and-may-need-to-adjust-his-approach-on-offense-as-he-and-wizards-slump\/","title":{"rendered":"Deni Avdija is being dared to shoot and may need to adjust his approach on offense as he and Wizards slump"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Washington Wizards are in the midst of another three-game losing streak, their third of the season, and have now lost six of their last seven games following a defeat to the Los Angeles Lakers on Sunday where Anthony Davis scored 55 points and received multiple MVP chants on the road, but basically a Lakers home game. Coinciding with Washington’s slide has been less production and playing time for Deni Avdija who has scored just 20 points in his last four games and averaging just under 20 minutes per game.<\/p>\n

On Friday night in Charlotte, the Wizards found themselves down 22 points to a likely lottery-bound Hornets team with their comeback attempt falling short despite multiple chances down one point with the ball at the end of the game. Avdija did not play in the second half as head coach Wes Unseld Jr. opted to start Corey Kispert to begin the third quarter citing after that game that it simply was not Avdija’s night. The nine minutes that Avdija played were the second fewest this season, only more than the first game of the season when he left with an injury after playing eight minutes.
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Deni Avdija – Photo Credit: Washington Wizards<\/p><\/div>
\n“It wasn\u2019t just him, we struggled through the first three quarters of that game, everybody. I think he was a little frustrated with the fouls. Foul or no foul, we can argue whether they were or not, but we have to play through it. I think that affected his offense, he was off balance, a little bit preoccupied with that and I think it took him out of his game,” Unseld was asked to elaborate pre-game on Sunday before the Lakers. “I talked to him at half about starting Corey and part of it was the way Corey was playing. Less to do with Deni and more to do with Corey. I told him I\u2019m going to start Corey in the second half and I thought it was good for us. That was not the plan not to play him the rest of the game, but that end of the third, that group in the fourth was tremendous.”<\/p>\n

On Sunday at home, although again you would have thought the game was played in Los Angeles with the overwhelming number of Lakers fans, Avdija took five three-pointers in the first quarter that were all open, but he failed to knock down any of them. LeBron James was the primary defender on four of the five shot attempts with Austin Reaves on the other and the Lakers clearly had a game plan to sag heavily off of Avdija to clog up the paint as they did not respect Avdija’s ability to make them pay, which proved correct on this occasion. Avdija would finish with just seven points on 3-for-11 shooting, 1-for-8 from 3 to go along with eight rebounds and two steals in 25 minutes with just eight coming in the second half.<\/p>\n

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\ud83c\uddee\ud83c\uddf1DENI AVDIJA in loss to the Lakers!\ud83c\uddee\ud83c\uddf1
\ud83c\udfc07 PTS
\ud83c\udfc08 REB
\ud83c\udfc02 STL
\ud83c\udfc025 MIN<\/p>\n

\ud83d\udd25CHECK OUT HIS HIGHLIGHTS!\ud83d\udd25
pic.twitter.com\/7mDxUfhKUx<\/a><\/p>\n

— Sports Rabbi (@thesportsrabbi) December 5, 2022<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n