Trail Blazers Have Found a Foundation With Deni Avdija and Toumani Camara

📍PORTLAND, Ore. — All it took was playing the best team in the NBA to stop the panic about the Trail Blazers winning too much.

A rough second quarter, where the Oklahoma City Thunder outscored the Blazers by 13, ensured Portland’s unlikely four-game winning streak came to an end in what was otherwise a close, competitive performance.

Sunday was also the latest example of what can at this point be considered the biggest positive development of the season: the continued strong play of Deni Avdija and Toumani Camara together.

For most of the season, the two versatile wings have been the Blazers’ two best players. And whatever the next winning iteration of the Blazers looks like, they’re the two players most likely to be a part of it.

Between them, Avdija and Camara scored almost half of the Blazers’ points on Sunday. Camara’s 24 points were a new career high as he continues to blossom offensively, and Avdija finished with 28 points, eight rebounds and eight assists.

But it isn’t just the recent production that makes the two of them so integral to the Blazers. It’s their ability to play, together or separately, in any different lineup combination that head coach Chauncey Billups wants to dry. When any of the Blazers’ other guards or wings (Anfernee Simons, Scoot Henderson, Shaedon Sharpe, Jerami Grant) are out injured or just removed from the lineup, either Camara or Avdija can slide comfortably between positions.

“We can switch, pretty much all the time,” Avdija said Sunday. “It’s fun to play with somebody like him, but I feel like it’s contagious. Guys are playing hard.”

As the season has progressed, both of them are unlocking new dimensions to their games.

“Both really young players that are discovering things about themselves that they hadn’t done before,” Billups said. “Deni has never had this much responsibility offensively before, especially with the ball. He’s been more, get his offense off of closeouts and kick-outs. He hasn’t done this. This is new for him. And Toumani played center in college. That’s what discovery and development is all about.”

Avdija’s ability to run the offense in particular has grown this year compared to what his role was in Washington. It’s been rough at times, but his combination of size and vision have made him into the kind of versatile two-way forward the franchise hasn’t had arguably since Nicolas Batum.

“To be a good playmaker, you have to be aggressive,” Billups said. “You have to play with force. Until you break the first seal of the defense, they haven’t had to rotate. They haven’t had to pull triggers anywhere. He’s so good at getting to the paint. And when you get there, most defenses become undisciplined at that point, and then you’re able to make plays. Deni’s had some games … he had 10 turnovers one time. These are positions he hadn’t been in before. You fall and bump your head a few times before you can learn. Now, this thing is kind of slowing down for him where he’s able to make some of those plays.”

“I kind of came here without expectations,” Avdija said. “I knew what I’m capable of doing, but I was just doing whatever the coach told me to do. I just kind of ended up in this role. I embrace it. I love it. I love making plays for others. I don’t really overthink my role.”

As positive a development as the four-game winning streak was, games like this against the truly elite teams in the NBA are just as valuable. Staying in a game against a team like Oklahoma City, for a team in the Blazers’ position, is all you can ask for in this kind of season. Especially while continuing to see what kind of future contributions they’ll get from Avdija and Camara.

“You can just see how we’re playing much better and we’re growing, individually and as a team,” Avdija said.