Over the last two weeks, the Portland Trail Blazers have had a wide range of outcomes in their four games. All four contests were decided by double digits with 24-point and 54-point losses to the Minnesota Timberwolves and Denver Nuggets, along with 16-point and 15-point wins over the Utah Jazz and Phoenix Suns.
For this extended stretch with few Blazers games being played due to the All-Star break, Blazer of the Week honors go to big man Donovan Clingan.
Clingan averaged 17.3 points, 12.3 rebounds, 4.3 assists and 2.3 blocks per game over the last four games. He has been absolutely incredible around the basket as a rebounder and rim protector, but he has also shown a newfound consistency scoring around the rim in recent months. His development into a high-level starting center has given the Blazers a new threat on offense in addition to his ability to anchor the defense.
In addition to his ability to close out possessions on the glass, Clingan has also shown an amazing ability to extend offensive possessions with offensive rebounds. He averaged 4.5 offensive rebounds this week in addition to his work on the defensive glass. These extra possessions are extremely valuable for a Portland team that finds themselves 28th in the NBA in both field goal and three-point percentage.
As a second-year player Clingan has already shown massive strides in his game that project well for his future in the NBA. His improvements from the three-point line project him as a guy able to make that shot consistently at around league average. This week he made 8 of his 17 attempts from deep, good for 47.1% from distance. His hesitation when finding himself open has dropped significantly. One of his biggest advantages from there so far is the newness of the threat. Opponent respect for that shot has not caught up to his abilities quite yet. Once that gap closes and he is guarded from distance, it will remain to be seen if he can make the shot while contested. However, for now his ability to make open threes is a massive boon for Portland’s offensive rhythm, making him a threat as both a roller and a popper after setting screens.
This week’s honorable mention is Scoot Henderson.
Henderson averaged 13.8 points, 3.8 assists and 2.5 rebounds per game over the four-game stretch. It was not the most impressive week of his career statistically, but it was promising after such a long absence with an injury. He played 21.8 minutes per game off the bench and had his minutes restriction lifted coming out of the All-Star break. Scoot’s explosiveness and playmaking abilities are clearly still there, he just needs to refine them a bit to maximize his talents. The efficiency left some to be desired as he shot 41% from the field, but 40.9% from deep. All-in-all, it was a very good first couple games from Henderson. He has another level he could reach, but the early returns are everything fans could have hoped for.
Which Blazer impressed you the most this week? Let us know in the comments below!