Deni Avdija's rude awakening en route after boastful comments fall flat

Portland's breakout star Deni Avdija is dripping with confidence after beating the Suns in the Play-In Tournament on Tuesday night. The win put them directly in San Antonio's path, and after the way the Spurs have played over the past two months, that's a tough proposition for anyone. However, Avdija isn't fazed; in fact, he seems more confident than ever, as misguided as it is.

Look, some of you will read this and say to yourselves, "Well, what is he supposed to say?" It's really a silly argument when you consider there are countless ways to express yourself. It's not "either say this or say that." There are plenty of ways he could have answered the question without sounding cocky and dismissive because they won one game against the lowly Phoenix Suns.

Avdija's display at the end of that matchup lets us know that he's embracing the moment, but that doesn't really matter much when you're grossly outmatched. He won't be playing against the moment. He'll be trying to score against Stephon Castle and Victor Wembanyama, and that's a ridiculously tall task.

Portland is in for a terrible time in the first round

This is a team that finished with the same record as the ninth-seeded Clippers, who had to claw back from being 15 games under .500 just for the honor of being eliminated in the Play-In Tournament's first round. Congratulations on beating Devin Booker, Dillon Brooks, and Mark Williams, but there's a real step-up class about to take place.

The Spurs were 17 games better than Phoenix this season and 20 games better than the incoming Trail Blazers. That's no small margin. Occasionally, we get talented and gritty seventh seeds who make things interesting with the number two in their conference, but this won't be one of those times.

Their best chance will be to try crashing the offensive boards and give themselves additional opportunities. That's not going to work against a healthy San Antonio team. Don't get me wrong, they're a big team, and they're number two in offensive rebounds. Unfortunately for them, the Silver and Black are the top defensive rebounding team in the NBA.

It will truly be a clash of strengths in that specific area, so these opponents likely cancel each other out. The biggest problem for Portland is that they're ranked 28th in three-point percentage. That's the one weakness of the Spurs' defense. If they can't make them, they don't stand a chance.

If the Trail Blazers happen to get hot, San Antonio has been known to win a shootout or two—a benefit of having one of the best offenses in the NBA. It's not a matter of fear, but it's about to be a matter of fact because, like my Philly-raised father used to tell us, "You don't have to be scared to get your butt whipped."

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