Bizarre cost-cutting measures, a potential coaching reshuffle again, and falling 2-1 in round 1 of the playoffs are only some of the problems Deni Avdija has to deal with. The physicality of the series between the San Antonio Spurs and Portland Trail Blazers was intense before Victor Wembanyama’s concussion. It was Game 3 that looked more like a contact sport. But where we know what to expect in those situations, many Blazers fans were left baffled by how Avdija had to suffer a visible mishap and an offensive foul at the same time.

During the Blazers’ gritty 120-108 Game 3 loss to the Spurs, the forward proved his toughness by playing through a chipped tooth after a violent collision with Spurs guard De’Aaron Fox. The incident, which occurred late in the second quarter, saw Fox catch Avdija with a hard elbow to the mouth during a physical spin move in the paint. Cameras zoomed in to show that the 25-year-old was clearly missing half an incisor after the hit, a classic hockey smile. Deni would have to worry if dental work is covered under the new frugal ownership later. He eventually knocked down the one technical free throw to push his team’s lead to 6 points at the time. But the real story emerged from the officials’ table.

The play was initially called an offensive foul on Fox. He was so mad about it that he got a technical foul for raging. But the Spurs successfully contested it and not only got it overturned, but also redefined the play! The sequence was officially logged as a blocking foul by Avdija. So, adding insult to dental injury, Avdija got a foul on top of everything. The shift in momentum was significant. Though Avdija finished with 19 points and 9 assists, the Spurs, led by Stephon Castle’s 33 points, secured a 2-1 series lead.

Of course, the math didn’t math for everyone. How does the injured player become the self-inflicted offender? Too bad for Deni Avdija and the Trail Blazers; the precedent for it was as recently as this week.

Deni Avdija is a victim of forward motion vs natural space

The decision to switch the foul from De’Aaron Fox to Deni Avdija sparked immediate comparisons to a controversial ruling earlier this postseason involving Devin Booker and Alex Caruso. Game 2 saw Book on a tirade about the officiating and a $35,000 fine as a result. In that instance, Booker was whistled for an offensive foul for grazing Caruso on a jump shot, a move deemed an “un-natural shooting motion.” However, subtle differences lie between the Booker-Caruso precedent and the Fox-Avdija collision.

In the previous series, the league stood by the offensive foul on Booker because Alex Caruso had completely stopped his momentum and was actually moving his head back to avoid the contact. The officials ruled that Booker’s “un-natural” extension into Caruso’s space was the primary cause of the foul.

In Game 3 in Portland, the dynamics were reversed. Upon review, referees determined that the difference here is that while Caruso was trying to get out of Booker’s way, Deni Avdija was still moving forward into De’Aaron Fox’s shooting space. The replay suggested that Avdija leaned into Fox as the guard initiated his spin, essentially creating the contact that led to the elbow hitting his face. Under the league’s verticality rules and the concept of a ‘cylinder,’ Avdija was held responsible for the collision.

The offensive foul on Fox was overturned to a defensive foul on Avdija, despite the contact resulting in a dental emergency for the Blazers star. Regardless of that overturned call, Avdija’s toothless aggression was the highlight of a tough night for Portland. As the series heads to a must-win Game 4, the Blazers will need to find a way to maintain that intensity without landing on the wrong side of the whistle.