Washington Wizards head coach Wes Unseld Jr. is banking on the potential of Deni Avdija in playing an important assignment this season.
With the Wizards missing a number of key players due to COVID-19 protocols, the team was prompted to rely on second-year forward Deni Avdija, especially on the defensive end.
Avdija's main task for the Wizards in recent games was the most important one–guarding the opposing teams' best players. As it stands, the Israeli has been doing a good and coach Unseld is confident that he could still improve.
“It’s going to be a challenge. People forget he’s a second-year player and we’re asking him to guard All-Stars,” Unseld Jr. said of Avdija via NBC Sports. “So, it’s not going to be great every night, and I don’t expect it to be, but I think there’s growth.”
“The more he does it, he will have a comfort level with guarding those marquee matchups and understanding personnel tendencies,” he continued. “It’s only going to make him better.”
Last month, Unseld already mentioned that the Wizards have been benefiting from Avdija's “size, physicality and ability to move his feet” when defending star players.
Despite the rave reviews from his coach, Avdija insisted that he just like to help the team win.
“I just liked my helping the team as much as possible, you know, being involved, playing some big plays in crunchtime,” Avdija confessed via The Washington Post. “For me, it’s like, it’s really a dream come true. Helping the team to win and being there for my guys, it’s the greatest gift that I can get. For real.”
The Wizards will be hoping to bounce back from the 119-112 lost to the Miami Heat when they take on the Cleveland Cavaliers on Thursday.
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