Damian Lillard has played alongside some pretty accomplished scorers. His early experience sharing the floor with Deni Avdija has brought a different level of enjoyment.
“Playing with him has probably been the most joyful for me out of any other player I’ve played with, as far as being a tandem,” Lillard said, via Tony Ray Harvey of Publicity Agents.
“Just because of the force that he plays with, it makes the game easier for me. He draws a lot of attention on himself.”
The Trail Blazers are 9-3, with Avdija averaging 23.9 points, 6.1 rebounds and 6.3 assists while shooting 50% from the field. Lillard is contributing 20.6 points and 4.3 assists, with considerable confidence in the teammate helping him carry the offense.
“The trust that’s there, based on what I’ve seen from him last year and now being on the floor with him, is at an extremely high level,” Lillard said. “Knowing that he could dominate games, he could make plays and make the game easier for me, and I can do the same for him.”
That’s meaningful praise from someone whose previous teammates include LaMarcus Aldridge, CJ McCollum and Giannis Antetokounmpo. Lillard sounds comfortable letting Avdija take control when the matchup calls for it.
Avdija believes their conversations help make that work.
“I feel like the communication with us is the key,” he said after the win over the Kings, via Fadeaway World. “But it’s not only Dame, I feel like everybody — our communication is so good that we’re able to fix things on the fly and understand how to play together.”
Twelve games is an early sample. But winning nine of them while learning how to make each other better is a fairly encouraging introduction.
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