Donovan Clingan’s early-season work is starting to look a lot different for the Portland Trail Blazers.
That matters because the big man’s biggest problem showed up in the 2026 NBA playoffs, when Portland fought through the Play-In Tournament to grab the 7th seed, then ran into the Western Conference champion San Antonio Spurs and lost in five games. The Blazers had plenty of issues in that series, but one of the clearest was how effectively San Antonio quieted Clingan. Victor Wembanyama is a brutal assignment for anybody, yet the matchup also exposed a flaw that had been hanging around Clingan’s game: he handles the bigs built like him just fine, but the more mobile ones have given him real trouble.
That pattern showed up over the regular season, too. The worst outings on Clingan’s ledger mostly came against big men who can stretch the floor, pull him away from the paint and take away the area where he does his best work.
Now, though, that version of Clingan basketball may be fading fast.
Over his last two games, he’s gone up against Nikola Jokic and Oso Ighodaro - two bigs with completely different styles - and controlled both matchups. In those two contests, Clingan has put up 20.5 points, 14.5 rebounds and 3.5 blocks while shooting 60/40/83. He’s also averaged 6.5 offensive rebounds and posted a net rating of +23.
That production has helped anchor the eighth-best defense in the NBA, which is a sharp turn for a Portland team many people expected to struggle on that side of the floor. The sample is tiny, but the offensive rebounding stands out even more because it came against two very different opponents. Clingan grabbed nine offensive boards against Jokic alone, and that kind of work is especially notable given that he led the NBA in defensive rebounds last season.
His first five games were solid, but the volume was lighter. In that stretch, he was averaging 14 points, 14.6 rebounds and 3.2 blocks per 36 minutes while shooting 50/53/54. The difference has been playing time and rhythm: Clingan logged 30.5 minutes per game in the last two outings, up from 22.2 in the five games before them.
A lot of the recent damage has come on putbacks, but plenty of it has also come from lobs and easy looks around the rim. Damian Lillard obviously changes the equation, since he remains one of the most dangerous pick-and-roll guards the league has ever seen.
Still, Clingan’s fit next to Lillard and Deni Avdija gives Portland another layer. Lillard has never been known as a big lob passer, but that part of the floor is a major piece of Avdija’s game, and it has helped open Clingan up in a big way.
In Other News...
Blazers Loss Stings Less After One Encouraging Backcourt Update
The loss to San Antonio was a rough one on the floor, with the Spurs rolling to a 125-103 win at Moda Center and handing Portland its second straight defeat, the first time this season the Blazers have dropped back-to-back games. Victor Wembanyama set the tone for the visitors with 29 points, seven rebounds and three assists in just 24 minutes, leaving Portland to sort through a lopsided night and the bigger-picture questions that come with it.
Still, there was at least one encouraging note for the Blazers' backcourt. Coach Micah Nori said injured point guard Ja Morant had a recent medical consultation that went well, and his return could come sooner than originally expected. For a team that needs stability and playmaking after a frustrating stretch, any sign that help is moving closer matters, even if the exact timeline remains unsettled. [Read more 🡒]
Blazers Just Watched Another Smart Wing Move Pass Them By
A wing with some real long-term intrigue is on the move again, and this one will sting a little for teams still hunting for playable size on the perimeter. The Kings sent Nique Clifford to the Thunder for two second-round picks, a swap that underscores how quickly a young player can go from a draft asset to a movable piece when the fit and the minutes never quite line up.
For Portland, it is another reminder of how thin the market can get for smart, versatile wings once a player starts drawing attention around the league. Clifford had limited run in Sacramento this season, but he showed more productivity in his rookie year, which is part of why other teams had checked in on him. Now the Thunder get another developmental swing, while the Blazers are left watching a name they might have had reason to monitor land somewhere else. [Read more 🡒]
Blazers Homecoming Exposed A Problem Fans Know Too Well
The Moda Center homecoming turned into a rough reminder of how far the Trail Blazers still have to go, as San Antonio rolled to a 125-103 win and controlled the night almost from the moment the game settled in. Victor Wembanyama set the tone for the Spurs with 29 points, seven rebounds and three assists, while Deni Avdija led Portland with 15 points in a game where the home team never found a sustained answer.
The Spurs did most of their damage in the second and third quarters, stretching the margin to as many as 35 points and turning the fourth into little more than cleanup time. For Portland, the loss fit an all-too-familiar pattern for fans who have watched this team struggle to keep pace when an opponent starts dictating the game, and it leaves the bigger question hanging over nights like this: how quickly can the Blazers turn home court into something more than a backdrop for someone elses run? [Read more 🡒]