For Trail Blazers forward Deni Avdija, the excitement of being selected for his first All-Star appearance was mixed with a return of the back pain that has limited his playing time lately, writes Joe Freeman of The Oregonian. Avdija was forced to sit out Sunday’s loss to Cleveland, marking the third time he’s been unavailable in the past five games and the sixth time since January 13. While he’s looking forward to the All-Star game, that wasn’t he priority as he spoke to reporters.
“I have a lot of other things I think about,” Avdija said. “We’re struggling a little bit right now as a team, so I’m thinking more about the team right now than actually the All-Star (game).”
“I feel like I did what the team wanted me to do,” he said. “Bring the energy. Bring the spark off the bench. That’s what I’m known to do. So I’m going to continue to do that.”
There’s more from the Northwest Division:
- Jazz forward Lauri Markkanen was among this year’s most notable All-Star snubs, observes Kevin Reynolds of The Salt Lake Tribune. Markkanen, who’s averaging 27.4 points and 7.1 rebounds in 36 games, said before the reserves were announced that he thought he deserved consideration. “I think I’ve played at that level,” he said. “The NBA is really talented and there are a lot of high-level players. Obviously, that is an individual goal of mine. I hope I make it and, like I said, I’ve played at that level.”
- Michael Porter Jr. harbors no resentment toward the Nuggets for trading him. In fact, the Nets forward, who could get moved again this week, fully understands why Denver’s front office made the transaction. “I don’t look back at it with any saltiness toward the organization or anything. I think they got a lot out of trading me,” Porter told Bennett Durando of the Denver Post. “They got not only Cam (Johnson), but (Jonas) Valanciunas, Bruce (Brown), Tim Hardaway, who’s playing amazing. … I think it’s cool. And I still keep up with them. They’ve been able to stay afloat when Joker is out, AG (Aaron Gordon) is out, CB (Christian Braun) is out. And I don’t know with our roster last year, if some of those guys went down, if it would have been the same. So it probably is one of those unique trades where it kind of worked out for everybody.”
- Donte DiVincenzo of the Timberwolves credits Khris Middleton as being his favorite and most impactful veteran during his early years in the league, he stated on the RedHead Sports Pod. “He’s not the most athletic guy. He’s not the most flashy guy. Like, he just knew how to get a bucket and he knew how to be a pro,” DiVincenzo said. DiVincenzo has been on a tear lately, averaging 12.9 points, 4.8 rebounds, 4.4 assists and 1.8 steals last month.
Dana Gauruder contributed to this post.
Nice to see the league snub Markkanen, who was deserving of an all star spot, so that LeBron could keep his all star streak going when he should have been left out based off his performance and availability.
I’ll even one-up you. He deserved it. But even if you were going to snub him, kawhi Leonard should have been picked over LeBron as well. NBA needs to move on from LeBron. Hopefully this is his last year, which I doubt but it’s crazy how he made the All-Star team. Chat making it too is crazy over the two of them as well
NBA definitely wasn’t going to put Kawhi in if it has a choice. Minimize the chance of someone asking about Aspiration during All Star weekend in Ballmer’s house
The all star game was never anything more than a glorified exhibition game, and it’s far less than that now. Name all star teams, cancel the game and send the fellas to a tropical location so they can rest up for the games that count.