In October we called Deni Avdija a 9-cat trap, and eleven games with Ja Morant out have moved him to where the analysts had him

The argument we made about Deni Avdija in October rested on one assumption, that Ja Morant and Damian Lillard would take the ball out of his hands, and for most of this season only half of it has been true. Morant has played four games. Portland announced on October 30 that he had a grade 2 strain of his left hamstring and would be reevaluated in four weeks, as KPTV, KATU and NBC Sports all reported and we covered at the time, and in the seven games since, Avdija has played like the player who made last season's All-Star team rather than the one our preseason projection described.

Wednesday's win was the clearest example. Portland beat Oklahoma City 118-108 to finish a two-game sweep of the Thunder at home, and ESPN's recap credited Avdija with 28 points and noted that he and Lillard scored 20 of Portland's 30 points in the fourth quarter, with Avdija's free throws putting the Blazers ahead 99-98 with 5:24 left. By ESPN's box score he added six assists, three rebounds, four steals and two blocks in 35 minutes and made all six of his free throws, which is 59 fantasy points under ESPN's standard scoring. Our 9-cat board moved him from 82nd to 62nd after the game, which is exactly where the analysts' consensus has had him all along.

Every player in this story is on the fantasy basketball rankings and the 2026-27 projections, and the NBA depth charts show where each one stands in his team’s rotation tonight.