Blazers Need To Lean More On Donovan Clingan For Rest Of Season

Despite the fact that he's dealing with an injury and despite playing behind one - and often two - centers, rookie big man Donovan Clingan has looked fairly decent for the most part. The 7-foot-2 behemoth is swatting shots left and right (3.3 per 36 minutes), rebounding like a madman (6.5 in 16.6 minutes), and ultimately being a major post influence.

His offense, however, remains slightly behind his defensive impact. He's scoring just 5.6 points per game, which feels low when you consider his touch, and ability to finish around the rim.

Clingan isn't getting a lot of shots, which seems like a schematic thing more than anything, but he's also not seeking shots out aggressively enough on his own. As we enter the second half of the season, the rookie big man's path toward both minutes and shots need to be more fleshed out, particularly when considering that Deandre Ayton and Robert Williams are still on the roster.

(Full disclosure, Williams might not be there past Feb. 6, but that isn't an outright assumption we can make yet.)

The Blazers were high on Clingan. Proper high on him. They see him not just as a big man rim-runner, but also as a floor-spacer and potential hub within the offensive structure.

That's big praise for a guy who's yet to have his 21st birthday, and the plan might also hold water... assuming they actually make a real effort in providing him with those reps.

Clingan, who was rumored as the top pick for a while, is obviously young enough to spend a year taking a backseat to veteran players. However, on a team that's won 13 games by the midway point of the regular season, priorities need to shift. It'd be one thing if he was playing on a contender, and had to wait his turn. But for a team in such a drastic need of finding stability, not using your lottery selection, who you have such lofty expectations of, seems off.

Whether the path to more usage and more responsibilities comes from a trade of Williams, Ayton, or something third needsn't matter. The most crucial aspect of is getting out on the floor, and testing out his skill set.

Anything else is just a waste of time.

Unless noted otherwise, all stats via NBA.com, PBPStats, Cleaning the Glass or Basketball-Reference. All salary information via Spotrac. All odds courtesy of FanDuel Sportsbook.

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