“History: Danny Abdia was selected ninth in the NBA Draft by the Washington Wizards.” You heard this sentence on November 19, 2020, and whether you wanted to or not, planned or not, it evoked something in you. Three months and a day have passed since that exciting night, about a third of the season is already behind us, and the same spark that we all had in our eyes, and also our loss – is disappearing from game to game.
Last week was the weakest week in Abdia’s NBA career, and it was basically a sequel to the one before it. Danny did not start a game in the top five, did not even come up as the first substitute from the bench in the forward position, looked anemic, his shots did not come in (the few that did take) and worst of all for him personally – Washington recorded three consecutive wins. That is, Washington has proven to itself that it can get along “without it.”
The week that was
Friday-Saturday: Without Bradley Bill getting a rest, Washington lost 109-91 at home to the New York Knicks. Abdia scored 8 points and dropped 6 rebounds in 21 minutes.
Sunday night: Washington defeated Boston 91: 104, Abdia played 28 minutes and finished with 8 points, 10 rebounds, and almost a historic ‘poster’ on Taco Pool.
Monday-Tuesday: 119: 131 to Washington over Houston and John Wall. Abdia scored 5 points in 20 minutes.
Wednesday-Thursday: Washington scored a super-dramatic 128: 130 over Denver thanks to two free throws by Bill. Abdia scored one three-pointer in 21 minutes.
Young and nervous
Abdia, who first of all needs to be identified with his fine attacking play, seems in the Wizards’ attack like his own shadow. The energetic player we know has become an off player, and in recent games it has been unpleasant to watch. Before we understand how much Danny is not involved or not “counted” in Scott Brooks’ attack, we’ll start from the end and talk about the consequences: At 20, Abdia is more nervous than ever.
Danny has never hidden his emotions on the floor, but in recent games it seems that those emotions have become mostly negative. Even in the group’s podcast from the capital “Locked On Wizards” they noticed the matter and talked about his frustration, which is sometimes expressed in exchanges with the judges. Aside from the famous event in the closing seconds of the confrontation against Houston (who did not enter ‘Shaktin’ for no apparent reason), here are some more body language examples we are not used to seeing from Danny:
Like most of us, Abdia does not always like the choice of Davis Bertans’ shots, even when they come in.
Davis Bertans’ balance on his jumper is the best it’s been all season today. Finally looks like he has his legs under him after getting to training camp late pic.twitter.com/Nhacvbu9Av
– Andrew Fenichel (@Andrew_Fenichel) February 16, 2021
Another hard-fought three by Bartens, and another reaction by Abdia that coaches less like in such cases.
Yeah, Davis Bertans is back 🔥 pic.twitter.com/MK0O78FRBH
– Hoop District (@Hoop_District) February 16, 2021
Here, too, Abdia’s body language conveys a lack of interest. Alex Len seals a huge comeback before the half-time break with a basket on the buzzer, Russell Westbrook and Bill celebrate, and Danny walks towards the bench as he bows his head on the way.
What an assist by Russell Westbrook. Passes the ball the length and width of the court for Alex Len to get a clear lane for a dunk. pic.twitter.com/MWu4d3vfeH
– Hoop District (@Hoop_District) February 18, 2021
This is what it used to look like …
Misses the emotional Danny pic.twitter.com/Z76lYhRBfR
– Dan Sasson (@sasson_dan) February 20, 2021
Not a factor in the attack
One can understand the nerves of Abdia. Off the field he sees the various Rockies bombing (Sedic Bay for example was selected in 19th place and has already won the player of the week title in the East) and on the floor he does not exploit 10% of his offensive potential. At the beginning of the season when the threes dived in, Abdia’s situation did not look bad at all, but Brooks brought him to a situation where he is so dependent on his shooting from the outside that when she does not enter – he becomes irrelevant and has nowhere to gain confidence.
Because since the beginning of the season Brooks has been using his Brooke as a slinger instead of a playmaker, now Danny suffers from symptoms of scenes when in practice he is far from being one. If last season Abdia had entered the game through a few assists or penetrations, today it depends on his threes. The bullets do not enter? The confidence went. Did the security go? The game is over. And so, Coach Brooks, destroy a young player.
Abdia Super eight games in a row with a single-digit number of points, a streak he didn’t have all of last season. And more than that – a streak that this season has no rookie selected in the top 15 (minimum 13 minutes per game). Until the last game in which he scored in double digits against Miami (13 points), Danny was 46.6% off the arc (21 of 45), and in the last eight games he has scored only 19.3% (6 of 31). In total this season Abdia has scored 35.5% of threes, which is reminiscent of the familiar and suspicious ability from last year (33.2%). Bartans, by the way, is on 14 of 17 threes in the last two games.
A great way to test involvement in an offense is through the Usage Index, which looks at what percentage of the attacks in which a player took part ended in his shot (penalty or field) or loss. Of the 25 Rockies who play more than a quarter of an hour per game, Abdia is ranked 21st in the Usage Index with 12.8%, and among Washington players who see 15+ minutes in the evening, he is ranked last.
If in the last two games against Houston and Denver it seemed to you that Abdia was even less involved in the Wizards’ offense, you are not wrong. Against the Rockets his Usage index stood at 7.8% and against the Nuggets 8%. By comparison, the lowest seasonal index in the last 25 years stands at 8.7% (Dennis Rodman throughout 1997/98). So maybe it’s time for Danny to force more and play with a little more ‘Israeli audacity’? Apparently there is no choice.
Still anchored in defense
Contrary to everything we knew and expected, Abdia the NBA version is first and foremost a defensive player, and the more he misses on offense, the stronger this image will be. Until the percentages are straightened out or until Brooks realizes that the ball must pass through Danny’s hands (at least when he plays alongside the sub-players), we will settle for optimism about the defensive part.
After doing a great job on Zack Lavine last week, Abdia met a few more stars of the week in the form of Jason Taitum, John Wall and Jamal Marie (this time he was not specifically instructed to keep them for long while he was on the floor). When Abdia kept the three, he stopped them at 0-of-6 from the field and one loss to Marie. Wall and Marie, it will be recalled, scored 29 and 35 points respectively against Washington. And Marie scored 50 against Cleveland, yes?
Jamal Marie yesterday gave a tremendous game against Washington with 35 points.
When Danny kept him he was stopped at 0 of 3 from the field and lost.
While the rest of the players kept him on he scored 13 of 22 from the field (59%) and did not lose once– Yoav Modai (@Yoav_Modai) February 18, 2021
One of the best scorers in the world tries to take Abdia in the ‘post’, but the rookie puts his body nicely, reaches up and after the stop also squeezes an offense from Taitum.
via GIPHY
When we talk about Danny’s defensive potential, we’re talking about moves like this. He meets the Houston jet 15 inches lower than him, and manages to stay ahead of him and force him to a hard shot.
via GIPHY
Abdia’s defensive work on Marie begins with preventing the ball even before Nikola Jukic hands it to him, and when he gets the ball and goes to the Israeli ring he stays in front and leaves Kennedy no choice but to take a not-so-simple shot on one leg.
via GIPHY
The Rockies Index:
Avdia’s averages last week: 21.7 minutes, 5.3 points on 34.6% from the field, 13.3% from three and 25% from penalties, 6.3 rebounds, 1.5 assists, loss, steal, 0.3 blocks and a plus-minus index of 7.3.
Weekly average: 22.5 minutes, 6 points on 32% from the field, 25% from threes and 66.7% from penalties, 6.5 rebounds, 0.5 assists, 1.3 losses, 0.3 steals, 0 blocks and a plus-minus index of 3.8+.
Seasonal average: 22.9 minutes, 6.8 points on 42.4% from the field, 35.5% from three and 57.9% from penalties, 4.9 rebounds, 1.6 assists, 0.8 losses, 0.8 steals, 0.2 blocks and a plus-minus index of 0.7.
Comparison to the rest of the Rockies (minimum five games and 10 minutes per game)
subtlety: Rated 10 (8 last week, Isaac Okuro first with 33.1)
Points: Rated 16 (16 last week, Lamello first ball with 14.6)
Percentage of field: Rated 17 (15 last week, Fresh Achiva first with 57.1%)
Percentage of three: Rated 15 (9 last week, Desmond Bain first with 47.7%)
Percentage of penalties: Rated 28 (28 last week, Isaiah Joe first with 100%)
Rebounds: Rated 5 (6 last week, Lamelo first with 6.2)
Assists: Rated 17 (11 last week, Lamelo first with 6.1)
Losses: Rated 20 (23 last week, Lamello leads with 2.7)
Kidnappings: Rated 10 (9 last week, Lamello first with 1.5)
Blockages: Ranked 26 (25 last week, James Weissman first with 1.3)
The plus-minus index: Rated 16 (17 last week, Desmond Bain first with 3+)
What next?
A fateful week. It can be gently said that if Abdia passes another week without a 10+ point game, the shots will not be long in coming. Both in the direction of Danny and in the direction of Brooks. The test will begin tomorrow (Sunday) at 5:00 a.m., with a meeting with the hottest player in the NBA, Damian Lillard.
The Portland star has swept his team to six straight wins, and after not being selected in the All-Star top five, he is unlikely to stop any time soon. Recall that in the previous game between the two, Abdia tried to keep him in the clutch and got a crucial three on the head.
Between Monday and Tuesday Abdia will host the champion Los Angeles Lakers and LeBron James, and between Thursday and Friday the Wizards will hope to complete a seasonal sweep over Denver. More than 11 years have passed since an Israeli first met LeBron on the glittering NBA hardwood floor. In December 2009 Cleveland met Omri Caspi’s Sacramento, defeating it 104: 117. LeBron recorded a triple-double with 34 points, 16 rebounds and 10 assists, and Caspi opened with a five and scored 18 points.
It is said that in order to fix any fault one needs to ‘turn it off and on’. In our case the first part is already behind us, so we just have to wait for Abdia to light up and remind everyone how much potential he has. And if he’s already arranging a plot twist for us, it should happen in Hollywood.
