Three weeks is a particularly long period of time in NBA terms. For nearly three weeks Danny Abdia had to stay away from the orange ball, the routine, his friends, and watch Washington’s survivors fall apart game after game. Another not-so-simple spectacle to watch was to see the young players from his Rockies cycle exceed all expectations while he was in isolation.
During those weeks Lamello Bull established his status as a favorite for the rookie title this season, Anthony Edwards and James Weissman met each other and scored 25 points each, Emanuel Quickley became New York’s hopeful, Tyrese Liberton became a significant screw in Sacramento and Anthony Cole scored a crazy winning basket. And lost? Like we said, in isolation.
Danny knew that if he wanted to save the early question marks around his choice, he must go back to the parquet in order to devour. After a calm return game for him (and vice versa for the Wizards) in which he scored just 2 points out of his team’s 149 against Brooklyn, Abdia came back to himself with two great games. 13 points in a loss to Portland, and another 13 points in a win in Miami.
Between Sunday and Monday: Washington scores 8 points in the last 8 seconds and defeats Brooklyn 146: 149. Abdia played 16 minutes and scored 2 points on 25% from the field (1 of 4).
Between Tuesday and Wednesday: Damien Lillard takes over matters in money time and Portland wins in Washington 121: 132. Abdia played 23 minutes and finished with 13 points on 83.3% from the field (5 of 6), 7 rebounds, 3 assists, 0 losses and a plus-minus index of 4+, the second highest in the team.
Between Wednesday and Thursday: Washington shows that it also knows how to save, stopping the hit on 35 points in the second half and defeating the runner-up 100: 103 on Miami soil. In 33 minutes, Abdia scored 13 points and dropped 4 rebounds.
He has fire in his eyes
Before we get to the slightly more advanced numbers, we need to go back to the simple things. If before the draft you were asked to describe Danny, you would probably mention his special character on the parquet. 0% indifference and 100% “Rabak”. Positive insolence expressed in the openings in the open field in Jerusalem and Barcelona, a ‘poster’ about Gigi Datuma in Turkey and a roar towards Hapoel Holon fans in a difficult away game.
Without mentioning at all elements related to basketball itself, this character immediately made Abdia look more like an experienced player and less like a kid running around on the hardwood floor. When he played for Maccabi Tel Aviv against players older than him, he always seemed the hungriest on the field and mostly fearless. Or in English, just because it sounds better – “Pearls”.
We had a lot of good things to say about Danny in his first games in the NBA, but there were also reviews that could not be ignored. Among other things, the fact that he has become a much more indifferent player, even a little off if you will. Despite the mitigating circumstances (playing alongside superstars that do not suit him + a new place), we waited to see Abdia turn himself on and erupt.
And this week, something was released. The spark returned, the bad boy in Abdia came out again and the fire in his eyes surprised the Wizards broadcast team as well. “Look at his eyes lit up!”, Team broadcaster Justin Kutcher said after the sinking against Miami. If he only knew how much we’ve seen this look before …
If we say that the first dunk in Abdia’s NBA career came only in his 14th game (17 including preparation) because he had no opportunities to sink before, we’re lying to ourselves. More than once the rookie could have drowned, or at least tried, but decided to give up. And he is certainly not afraid to try, feel free to ask Daniel Kuperberg.
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The renewed aggression boils down not only to one dunk or another, but also to the assertiveness of taking the ball all the way to the ring, even if your guardian is called Kevin Durant. Here Danny sees KD in front of him and decides to give up the shot from outside to penetrate the basket. Abdia may have missed (went up to the layup too soon before his foot stepped through the paint and did not seek the touch), but he made the right move. A move we did not see enough of in the first games.
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Does this move with the suffix on the left seem familiar to you? In December 2019, Abdia did the exact same thing against Hapoel Holon in Yad Eliyahu, only then he left the place faster, jumped into the ring when his foot was in the paint and finished with a resounding dunk. That, too, is yet to be seen in the NBA.
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Abdia’s best game this week was the second against the Trailblazers. He opened it with a basket and an offense and in the second quarter scored the layup in front of you after a beautiful finish in ‘Rivers’, one we had not seen from him in the NBA until that move. And the truth? It seems so easy for him.
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According to the NBA’s official website, Danny had 19 penetrations to the basket this year. Eight of them have come in the last three games. These entrances and rings (also the one he missed) testify, among other things, that he managed to overcome the initial mental barrier facing every rookie in this league, and more importantly – that he managed to restore his familiar body language, and look like the player he is again. One that has nothing to do with the word “off.”
Deni Avdija qui dunk, eh bah putain il montre les muscles le rookie!pic.twitter.com/UAbPrvJ3sN
– Wizards France (@WizardsFrance) February 4, 2021
coordinator? Not so fast
One of the major issues that preoccupied Washington this week was whether Danny should coordinate. Russell Westbrook and Raul Neto were absent in front of the hit, leaving Scott Brooks with Smith’s man as the only natural center, but the coach did not even take Abdia into account when making his calculations ahead of the tackle. And if it did not happen then, it will not happen any time soon.
“Abdia coordinator? Not now,” he claimed Brooks Before the game when asked about it at the press conference. “Maybe a few more years. It’s hard enough for a 19-year-old to just turn 20 to understand one position. You don’t suddenly become a coordinator – it will be a lack of appreciation for those who have played the role all their lives. He needs to improve in his position. But not a coordinator. ”
I have a lot to say about this statement, but I’m not sure it’s the right place. In any case, even if Brooks does not see in Abdia what most of us see, the Israeli can still become a playmaker on the halfway line, and this week we received some more proof of that.
Here Abdia lowered a rebound and for a change led the ball himself, even if he was not considered a “by the book” coordinator by his coach. Danny recognizes Roy Hachimura’s movement towards the penalty spot and finds him in an easy basket. A move we have hardly seen to date.
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Also against Miami Danny showed the Americans that his potential does not come down to threes and defense. He recognizes Bam Adbaio and Jimmy Butler bumping into each other, and sends a beautiful delivery that crosses the defense and reaches Bill. Unfortunately it will not be remembered as an assist, but these are exactly the kind of smart dedication we expect to see from him. Then, maybe, Brooks would let him manage the offense sometimes.
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Not as involved as you thought
On the face of it, Abdia seems to have been more involved this week than any other week, but that’s not exactly the reality. The rookie who leads Washington in the offensive index (116.4) may have scored for the first time in double digits in two consecutive games, but his points can be divided into two: baskets he took on (like the dunk for example) and three free throws (too) that left his teammates no choice but to give him.
At this point in Danny’s career it might be enough, but over time we’d like to see the Wizards play more for him and look for him, because in the meantime – it’s not happening. Until the outbreak of the Corona, Abdia distributed 25.3 dedications per game and received only 17.2 (8.1 difference), and in the last three games he distributed 27.7 dedications per game and received 19 (difference 8.7). Westbrook and Bill, by comparison, are getting a total of 131.3 dedications per game this season.
Even with touching the ball the change is far from drastic. Until the outbreak Abdia touched the ball 32.8 times per game (16.4 in the front half), and in the last week touched the ball 35 times per game (18.3 in the front half).
Here Danny signals to Westbrook to hand him over to Eli Hope but the star does not look in his direction and ends the eruption alone.
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Another similar move in the open field. This time Hachimura with the ball in a two-on-one situation with Danny by his side, but the Japanese forward sees no one from a meter and a move that is anti-basketball luckily managed to squeeze an offense. You can see Abdia’s frustration at the end of the gif.
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The Rockies Index
Avdia’s averages last week he played (January 8-15): 21.9 minutes, 8.7 points on 41.7% from the field, 45.5% from three and 100% from penalties, 4 rebounds, 2.3 assists, 0.7 steals, 0 blocks and a plus-minus index of 7.3.
Weekly average: 23.9 minutes, 9.3 points on 57.9% from the field, 50% from threes and 100% from penalties, 4.3 rebounds, assists, 0.7 losses, 0.3 steals, 0 blocks and a plus-minus index of 4.7.
Seasonal average: 23.3 minutes, 7.5 points on 48.1% from the field, 46.7% from three and 66.7% from penalties, 4.1 rebounds, 1.9 assists, 0.6 losses, 0.9 steals, 0.2 blocks and a plus-minus index of 0.1.
The last two games have certainly bounced off Abdia’s numbers, but like we said at the beginning, his classmates also came to work. Here’s Danny’s comparison to the other Rockies in the NBA (minimum 5 games and 10 minutes on average):
subtlety: Rated 8 (8 last week played, Isaac Okuro first with 34.9 average)
Points: Rated 14 (16 last week, Anthony Adwords first with 13.6 average)
Percentage of field: Rated 10 (11 in the last week, Fresh Achiva first with 62.5% average)
Percentage of three: Rated 3 (4 last week, Mason Jones first with 53.6%)
Percentage of penalties: Rated 22 (18 in the last week, Isaiah Joe first with 100%)
Rebounds: Rated 8 (9 last week, James Weissman first with 6.1)
Assists: Rated 10 (8 last week, Lamello first ball with 6)
Losses: Rated 28 (Not measured in the last week, Lamello Bull “first” with 2.6)
Kidnappings: Rated 9 (5 in the last week, Lamello Bull first with 1.4)
Blockages: Rated 26 (18 last week, James Weissman first with 1.3)
Plus-minus index: Rated 10 (Not measured in the last week, Peyton Pritchard first with 3.9+)
* Danny Abdia leads the Rockies in the offensive index – with 116.4 points per 100 passers.
Of the players who average at least three threes per game, Abdia has the eighth highest percentage in the entire NBA.
What next?
First of all, Miami (tonight at 3 p.m., live on 5SPORT). Danny will once again play against the team he likes to meet the most, the one he feels at home with because of the heat and the one he scored 33 points against in two games. The heat is a great excuse to entertain the locals, but that’s not really why Abdia enjoys against the hit.
We constantly hear about the difficulty facing Abdia, in that he has to face as a top five player against the best players of the opponent. So against Miami, at least on offense for Danny, that’s not the case. In the first game Duncan Robinson kept it 41.6% of the time, and in the second – 58%. blessed.
If the Bats do not ruin our plans (after canceling two early games against Cleveland), on Sunday at 20:00 Israel Washington time and Abdia will be hosted by Lamello and Charlotte. Between Monday and Tuesday Danny will make his debut at the mythical United Center of Chicago, and between Wednesday and Thursday he will meet Toronto for the first time. But even before that, he hopes to continue making a living in Miami.