Deni Avdija's career season has come with an understandable caveat: a huge uptick in turnovers. It has become even more concerning recently, and the lack of a consistently reliable ball-handler on the roster could mean that the Portland Trail Blazers have no choice but to live with the turnovers.
While Avdija is averaging career bests this season in points (24.2) and assists (6.7), his 3.9 TOs per game mark a career high. Only Luka Doncic has coughed it up at a worse rate, although it wouldn't be surprising if the Blazers star ends up overtaking him by the end of the regular season.
In the past four appearances, Deni has turned it over a total of 21 times. Interestingly, that isn't even his worst four-game stretch of this campaign, as he logged 25 turnovers over the Blazers' final four contests in December.
More TOs, higher chances of losing
Fans can't blame Avdija for being careless with the rock, though, especially with how heavy his burden is in carrying the Blazers' offense.
Still, there have been times when his excessive turnovers have cost the team a loss. The All-Star has four matches this year with seven TOs, and all of those have resulted in the Blazers' defeats. It's also worth noting that they have gone 3-3 whenever he has recorded six TOs.
For Portland's likelihood of extending its 2025-26 season past the play-in tournament to increase, Avdija will have to tighten it up. Sure, he can continue putting up insane numbers, but giving up extra possession to the opponents on a regular basis is a recipe for disaster.
Blazers have to do their part
In Deni's defense, an inflated turnover rate comes with the territory. The club relies on him to generate a significant chunk of its points. And he deserves credit for rising to the call and proving he is worth the amount of draft capital the Joe Cronin-led front office gave up to acquire him in the summer of 2024.
However, the Blazers have to do a better job of orchestrating a more effective offensive system that will help prevent Avdija from developing a reputation as a butterfinger.
For instance, head coach Tiago Splitter attributed their recent loss to the Philadelphia 76ers to turnovers. He didn't specifically mention Avdija, but the star forward accounted for seven of the squad's 19 miscues that evening. But unless Splitter can craft a more creative offensive playbook, blaming the Ls on TOs will remain a recurring theme for Rip City.
Another way to limit those errors is to field more efficient ball-handlers and shot-creators on the floor. Obviously, that solution will have to wait, as Shaedon Sharpe is still sidelined, Scoot Henderson continues to be an enigma, and any roster upgrade won't come until the offseason.
As such, Blazers fans might just have to accept the possibility of the team's Avdija problem persisting for the foreseeable future.