If they are in bad form, they will be put in cold storage. When they are in good form, the Blazers new stars will also be put in cold storage?

In the previous NBA regular season, the Dallas Mavericks, playing at home, narrowly defeated the Portland Trail Blazers 138-133 after overtime. After this game, the Mavericks' record, which ended their three-game losing streak, improved to 4-10, and they continue to rank third from the bottom in the Western Conference. The Trail Blazers, who suffered two consecutive losses, saw their record drop to 6-7, and continue to rank ninth in the Western Conference.

In this game, the performance of Trail Blazers starting center Donovan Clingan was quite satisfactory. Klingen played 27 minutes and 54 seconds, making 6 of 11 shots, 2 of 6 from beyond the three-point line, and 2 of 2 free throws. He scored a double-double of 16 points, 11 rebounds, 2 assists, and 2 blocks, including 7 offensive rebounds, and 4 fouls, with a plus-minus of -9. Klingen is simply capable on the offensive end, showing his comprehensive scoring ability. His role in offensive rebounds is also worthy of recognition. Not only that, Klingen also has good rim protection ability on the defensive end, and can also play a role in interior defense. Klingen's performance in this game can be regarded as both offensive and defensive, but the team is still unwilling to provide him with more playing time. He can only sit on the bench and watch the game at critical moments of the game. This is indeed a bit helpless, and it is indeed difficult for him to play a more critical role.

Klingen was born in February 2004. He is 21 years old, 218cm tall and weighs 120kg. He is an inside player from the University of Connecticut selected by the Trail Blazers with the 7th overall pick in the first round of the 2024 NBA Draft. In the NBA regular season last season, Klingen played a total of 67 games, averaging 19.8 minutes per game. He averaged 6.5 points, 7.9 rebounds, 1.1 assists, 0.5 steals and 1.6 blocks per game, including 3.2 offensive rebounds, 1.1 turnovers and 2.8 fouls. He shot 53.9% from the field, 28.6% from the three-point range, and 59.6% from the free throw line. Since the start of this season, Klingen has averaged 25.1 minutes per game in the first 13 games, averaging 8.8 points, 9 rebounds, 1.2 assists, 0.7 steals, and 1.4 blocks per game. He also has 0.7 turnovers and 2.8 fouls. His field goal percentage is 47.9%, his three-point shooting percentage is 20%, and his free throw percentage is 93.8%.

Klingen's overall performance this season has improved compared to last season, and he can still play a certain role on both offense and defense. However, judging from the current situation, Trail Blazers interim head coach Tiago Splitter does not like to use players at the fifth position, preferring to play five small tactics, which is also extremely detrimental to Klingen's growth. It's understandable to be benched if you don't play well, but it's a bit too much to sit on the bench even though you're in good form. It is indeed incomprehensible that he was obviously a high lottery pick selected by the team with the No. 7 pick in the first round, but he could only receive such treatment.