Deni Avdija could work great in the Cleveland Cavaliers system.
The Cleveland Cavaliers have the fifth pick in the 2020 NBA Draft. On Nov. 18, Deni Avdija will be waiting for that phone call to hear that he has been drafted in the NBA and for Cavaliers fans, the chances of Avdija joining the team are seemingly high.
Avdija has a lot of key qualities that would fit well in the Cavaliers system and he has the potential to make an impact right away for the Cavaliers, if they were to select him.
Avdija in his past season overseas averaged 4.0 points per game in the Euroleague and 12.4 points per game in the I-BSL for Israeli club Maccabi FOX Tel Aviv. In addition, his free throw percentage was in the high 50s, which he’ll need to improve on tremendously when he gets into the league.
He shot 35.3 percent from three-point range in the I-BSL and 52.6 percent from the field, though, which is encouraging for his NBA future. He can definitely help produce points right out of the gate and get his teammates involved as well. Plus, even perhaps pretty early on, with his defensive capabilities projecting to be better than that of Cedi Osman at the 3, we could see him in that role.
Here, though, we’ll take a look at how he could fit alongside a few Cavs players, in particular.
Three potential Avdija two-man games with the Cavs come to mind.
The first, we’ll touch on how Deni Avdija could fit seamlessly in two-man games with Cleveland’s young starting backcourt.
Potential Cavs Avdija and Garland/Sexton two-man games jump out
Avdija would be great in pick-and-pop play with Darius Garland and Collin Sexton. Avdija has shown plenty of flashes as a spot-up shooter, and he moves without the ball well, and can roll to the basket in a pick-and-roll situation.
If Avdija is still on the board when the Cavs are on the clock, and it still seems likely they’ll end up making their #5 pick, selecting him would give Garland and Sexton that forward who can do some of everything on the court. He can play the 3 and 4 for considerable stretches, and could fill in at the 2, although for Cleveland, that wouldn’t seem too realistic.
Sexton and Avdija has the potential to be a promising 1-2 punch, maybe even more so, though. Sexton, who led the Cleveland Cavaliers in scoring in 2019-20, is a quick guard who can create separation from his defender to be able to drive towards the basket.
If Sexton chooses to drive and not go for a shot, he could find Avdija from three-point range or Avdija can make a quick cut to the basket to take advantage of the attention Sexton draws. Avdija’s high IQ helps him in so many different situations to where he will make the right play.
Having a high IQ is crucial in the NBA and can separate you from being a good player to a great player. Like I mentioned before, Sexton’s speed will help him draw defenders towards him and can potentially leave Avdija open to knock down shots. Having a quick guard shifts the focus of defenders and makes the defender follow the guard, which then leaves an open shooter.
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If the Cavs select Avdija in the 2020 NBA Draft, he will have to have stellar communication with both Garland and Sexton. Being on the same page consistently is how chemistry improves so at shootarounds and practices, they should be strategizing.
Every opponent plays at a different tempo so studying film will be huge for these two to be a reckoning force straight out of the gate.
Avdija and Garland will also be a formidable duo if the opportunity were to arise.
Along with Sexton, Garland can help move the ball and create shots for others, and has better feel in that regard at this point, albeit not to knock Sexton. He displayed growth in that realm last season.
In any case, Avdija, Garland and Sexton working together would help the Cavs a lot in transition and set offense if their minutes-share were to increase as a trio as next season moves along. With Garland still figuring out his role with the team, Avdija can be beneficial in helping him find what role would best suit him for the future.
The latter, who has outstanding feel as a passer as well, could help Garland get open three-point looks, too. And Garland hit 39.2 percent of his catch-and-shoot triple attempts in 2019-20, per NBA.com’s shot tracking data.
Lastly, Avdija and a key Cavs big would be a two-man game to watch, too.
Avdija and Larry Nance Jr. would also be a Cavs two-man game to look out for
Larry Nance Jr. would also project as a big combination for Avdija throughout the season. Nance Jr. being a forward can be a key component for the Cavs as Avdija and Nance Jr. can cause defenders to double team them potentially and hopefully that’ll open up teammates for an open shot to knock down, and one another, even.
Nance Jr. continued to make strides in 2019-20 as a spot-up threat, as he knocked in 35.2 percent from deep, and Avdija could look for him a bunch.
The key for this will be Nance Jr. having good footwork to get to his spot on time or to get past a defender and get to the rim at times to truly tie this potential two-man game together.