Portland Trail Blazers star Deni Avdija played in each of the team’s first 40 games but is now in jeopardy of missing his third straight contest due to a lower-back strain.
Avdija is listed as doubtful for Saturday night’s home game against the Los Angeles Lakers. The All-Star candidate sat out Tuesday’s 119-97 road loss against the Golden State Warriors and Thursday’s 117-101 home triumph over the Atlanta Hawks.
Avdija leads the Trail Blazers in scoring (26.1 points per game) and ranks second in assists (6.9) and rebounding (7.1).
“The way Deni plays, he draws so much attention,” Portland interim coach Tiago Splitter said after Thursday’s victory. “We had to do some stuff differently. We still miss Deni.
“Deni’s a big part of our team. We’re not sure when he’s coming back but hopefully it will be soon. We need him.”
Veterans Jerami Grant (Achilles) and Jrue Holiday (calf) are listed as questionable for Portland.
Grant missed 14 consecutive games before returning against the Hawks. The forward had 16 points in 23 minutes off the bench.
Holiday has played in three games since missing 27 in a row. The point guard had 12 points, four assists and three steals in 20 minutes against Atlanta.
