The advantages and disadvantages are so obvious! The upper limit of the Blazers starting center is actually not high?

In a previous NBA preseason game, the Portland Trail Blazers at home narrowly defeated the Sacramento Kings 124-123. After this game, the Trail Blazers achieved their first victory during the preseason, with a current record of 1 win and 1 loss; while the Kings suffered two consecutive losses during the preseason, with a current record of 0 wins and 2 losses.

In this game, the performance of the Trail Blazers' starting center Donovan Clingan was still only so-so and not outstanding. Klingen played for 17 minutes and 41 seconds, making 1 of 4 shots and 0 of 2 free throws. He only scored 2 points, 8 rebounds, 1 assist and 2 blocks, including 5 offensive rebounds, 1 turnover and 5 fouls, with a plus-minus of +3. Klingen's performance in some aspects is worthy of recognition. His role in rebounding and blocking in the front and backcourts is very obvious. His ability in protecting the basket and inside defense is also worthy of recognition. He also has quite good physical fitness and confrontation ability. However, the problem is that his ability on the offensive end is indeed too lacking. Not only does he lack the basic ability to score independently, but even his ability to finish at the basket appears to be somewhat insufficient, and he also committed a large number of fouls, which also shows that he has some problems in defensive experience. Klingen can indeed play a certain role, but his shortcomings are indeed too obvious.

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. In the previous preseason game when the team lost to the Golden State Warriors, Klingen made 2 of 4 shots in 11 minutes and 11 seconds of playing time, scoring 4 points, 7 rebounds and 1 steal, including 6 offensive rebounds, 1 turnover and 2 fouls, with a plus-minus of -3.

In fact, Klingen's performance in the two preseason games had many similarities. He is a blue-collar player with very clear functions. He can indeed play a good role in what he is good at, but it is indeed difficult for him to achieve good results in other aspects. Klingen is a player with a high lower limit, but his upper limit is indeed a bit low. After staying in the NBA for a whole season, he seems to have not made any substantial progress on the offensive end, which will also make everyone worried about his development. This is actually an opportunity for Yang Hansen. Although Klingen's draft pick is not low, his upper limit does not seem to be high. If Yang Hansen can show more highlights on the offensive end, it is not unrealistic for Klingen to be surpassed by him in the team's position.