Deni Avdija Addresses Injury From Blazers' Big Win Over Heat

Though the Portland Trail Blazers came away with an emphatic 127-110 win over the Miami Heat at the Moda Center on Thursday night, they also came away with worries about their likely first-time All-Star, Deni Avdija.

Avdija seemingly re-aggravated his back, though he downplayed it postgame after amassing 20 points, seven rebounds, and four assists in his 18 minutes he played until the opening minutes of the third quarter.

“I’m not freaking out about it. It’s fine," Avdija said postgame.

“It kind of locked up again. But it’s fine. It’s not as severe as the other one. I wanted to stay in (the game) because I was warm enough and, like, I’m a competitor. I wanted to stay and do what I can to help the team. But (Splitter) does a great job of protecting me. We still have a lot of season left. We don’t want to do stuff that’s going to affect me later.”

Tiago Splitter More Cautious With Deni Avdija's Injury

While Avdija has claimed he's a tough guy and isn't worried about his injury in the past, his head coach, Tiago Splitter, has a much different view on it. Splitter explained that it was his decision to pull Avdija.

“He felt it a little bit, it was a little stiff,” Splitter said of Avdija’s injury. “And it was my decision to take him out and kind of like save him from himself. He’s fine.”

Of anyone, Splitter stands the most to lose if anything were to keep Avdija out of the lineup for an extended period. Avdija has three more years after this one on his current deal. Splitter, meanwhile, doesn't have a job locked down next year. A strong finish to the 2025-26 season could make him a valuable coaching candidate to more than just Portland.

Splitter shared a much more worried tone when Avdija's injury initially flared up, saying, "It’s a tough one, a tough hit after what he’s doing for us. I don’t want to sound the alarm too early, but yeah, I’m definitely worried about it." Splitter was clearly frustrated with the backcourt losses of Jrue Holiday earlier in the year and Scoot Henderson and was fearful of losing Avdija, and the team's playoff hopes, in one fell swoop.

Splitter doesn't seem as worried now, but that can certainly change soon as Avdija looks to work through his back problems.