Game Thread 2025-26 GAME #54 - BLAZERS VS 76ERS - FEBRUARY 9, 2026 - MONDAY - 7:00 PM - KUNP - BLAZERVISION

[UKRAINEFAN]

The comparison of Yang and Clingon is meaningless.

Different players develop differently.

One thing that is obvious is that when Yang is on the floor he is not at all being used to his strength. For some reason he is on the three-point line shooting three-pointers.
He has already shown that he can be capable near the hoop and as a passer to cutters so why isn't he used that way?

Because no one will guard him out there as long as he can't make three pointers? Leaving 5 defenders on four of our guys.... And they don't worry about him driving from there because he usually messes up if he has to cover that much ground. Maybe you want him to set up at mid range? Well, again he has to prove he can make mid range shots. I think one reason Jokic is such an effective passer is because teams have to respect his shot from 3 and mid range and he also can drive effectively.

 

[riverman]

no, it's not meaningless at all

the comparison isn't Yang vs Anfernee or Gary Trent Jr or TRob. And it's not comparing Yang to vet C's like Nurkic or Zubac. It's comparing a pair of 20 year old 7'2 drop-coverage C's in the first half seasons of their rookie years. That's a valid comparison

One being a rotation player and the other the end of the bench garbage time player sort of invalidates their rookie comparison to me. Yang has barely broken a sweat in the NBA...Clingan got tossed in the fire early his rookie season. Clingan didn't start his NBA career talking through a translator either. Big difference. Nobody will argue that Clingan is and was more NBA ready than Yang. That I'll agree on. I think they are using the G league team really well for developing Yang. Did the same for Duop before he got a contract as well.

 

[SharpesTriumph]

when Clingan played his first game as a rookie he started to show he would be good 2 weeks from then; and in his 13th game in the NBA, Clingan had 17 pts, 12reb, and 8 blks.

The thing is, Clingan in his first NBA game was only 4 months older than Yang in his first game. Really no significant difference in ages at all

more than that though is that Clingan came into the league having played 1,299 minutes in 74 games over 2 years at UConn. Meanwhile Yang came in having played 3,530 minutes in 106 games over 2 years in the professional CBA. While Clingan was averaging 17.5 minutes, Yang was averaging 33.3 minutes. Yang had over 2231 more minutes to work on his skills and craft in game situations than Clingan did. For every minute of experience Clingan had, Yang had 2.7 minutes

and we are seeing the results of all that extra time Yang had for development over Clingan. And yet, he's still 2 years away? Away from what?

Clingan winning national titles was MUCH higher level of competition than Yang over in the CBA. Also all in English.

Not saying Yang will be a good pick - but it was well known that Clingan was very NBA ready when drafted and Yang was not.

Talent wise there was also people legit ranking Clingan #1 overall in his draft - while most had Yang as a 2nd rounder.

 

[SharpesTriumph]

ok....but I think people are really overrating the level of competition Clingan faced vs what Yang faced. I'm not saying they were comparable, just that the overall gap wasn't as wide as people assume. When Clingan was at UConn, there were some of the teams he faced:

Stonehill (twice)...Boston U...UNC Wilmington...Delaware St....Long Island U...Northern Arizona...Miss Valley St....Manhattan...New Hampshire....Arkansas Pine Bluff. It wasn't always a murderers row of elite NCAA teams. And Clingan is a C so he really wasn't facing a lot of NBA-level big men.

and since the assertion is that all Yang needs is a couple of more years of floor time it's definitely worth noting he had over 3500 minutes of floor time in the CBA. Time he used to develop his skills; supposedly. I watched Clingan as a rookie last season, and while he wasn't fast or quick, his reactions to situations and the ball were pretty effective. Yang isn't in the same zip code as Clingan was. And with Clingan penciled in as the starter, I still can't see any utility in having a slower, clumsier, less dynamic drop-coverage C as Clingan's backup. It didn't make sense at the draft, and still doesn't.

It very well might be a stupid pick to have taken Yang on many levels.

But his CBA experience just isn't indicative either way - that league is probably more like junior college in the US and just doesn't have any good big men for someone over 7 ft to get useful NBA experience.

 

[SharpesTriumph]

The disparity between summer league Hansen and regular season Hansen is mind boggling.

He seemed competent and skilled against inferior competition and looks completely lost now. His garbage time minutes yesterday were absolutely brutal. Getting blocked, committing fouls, missing all of his threes. Even that shot he made should have been called a charge against him.

I hope the summer league Hansen makes an appearance at some point. Hopefully it’s not just the Caleb Swanigan effect.

Yeah I think the defense and athleticism in the NBA is just something Yang has never dealt with.

Also, some skilled players just need more minutes to get comfortable with their role - hard to do in short minute roles.

I think we'll just have to continue to give Yang garbage time this year and hold off judging him more until the first 15 games next season. He has a lot of training and work to do but also he has a hell of a difficult transition to the NBA nobody else had to go through.

Would have been way better if this was a player we took with a pick lower than #11. But that's now a sunk cost.

 

[SharpesTriumph]

Best game of Toumani's career. He had a great offensive night while still being fantastic on defense.

I think Camara is the linchpin of the Blazers going forward. The Blazers know they have scorers. They know they have guys that can defend. Scoot's already one of the better passers in the league. When Toumani is making shots, the Blazers are on a whole other level, though. He makes assists for all the passers the Blazers have. He opens lanes for our drivers because his defender can't cheat off him.

He has an opportunity to raise the level of the franchise, even if he won't get the recognition Dame, Deni, Shaedon, Jrue, Grant and Scoot will get.

Sharpe being out the last few games and the Blazers offense never looking better was something I noticed. Scoot gets others involved in a way Sharpe doesn't.

I don't care if Sharpe scorers 22ppg if the team offense struggles. I'd rather see him with 17ppg but more even shot distribution and more assists like we've seen lately.

 

[Everything Beagle]

Yang is better than Summer League competition but worse than NBA competition. It speaks more to the gulf in talent level between the two leagues.

 

[SharpesTriumph]

The comparison of Yang and Clingon is meaningless.

Different players develop differently.

One thing that is obvious is that when Yang is on the floor he is not at all being used to his strength. For some reason he is on the three-point line shooting three-pointers.
He has already shown that he can be capable near the hoop and as a passer to cutters so why isn't he used that way?

NBA teams normally don't structure their offense around a limited minute 3rd string center.

If Yang got to the point he was playing 20mpg every game then maybe we'd have some of the offense setup for him. We're a very long way from being at that point.

 

[SheedSoNasty]

Talent wise there was also people legit ranking Clingan #1 overall in his draft - while most had Yang as a 2nd rounder.

That’s what blew my mind when I heard we were drafting him via Brooklyn. It was like hearing Anthony Bennett was going first when nobody had him going there.

 

[blazerfan11]

no, it's not meaningless at all

the comparison isn't Yang vs Anfernee or Gary Trent Jr or TRob. And it's not comparing Yang to vet C's like Nurkic or Zubac. It's comparing a pair of 20 year old 7'2 drop-coverage C's in the first half seasons of their rookie years. That's a valid comparison

It's meaningless.

 

[blazerfan11]

Yeah I think the defense and athleticism in the NBA is just something Yang has never dealt with.

Also, some skilled players just need more minutes to get comfortable with their role - hard to do in short minute roles.

I think we'll just have to continue to give Yang garbage time this year and hold off judging him more until the first 15 games next season. He has a lot of training and work to do but also he has a hell of a difficult transition to the NBA nobody else had to go through.

Would have been way better if this was a player we took with a pick lower than #11. But that's now a sunk cost.

Yang also came with a 2028 Orlando first-round draft pick.

This is along with the pick swap with the Bucks in 2028, two first-round picks in 2029, and a pick swap with the Bucks in 2030.

 

[1 Eye Jack]

I will admit to this as far as Yang goes he really isn’t a great fit for our system. If you don’t take advantage of his passing skills by giving him the ball at top of key and run dribble handoffs of back cuts he probably isn’t going to have much success. I’d also give him some post ups when we have blow outs i think he has some good moves but needs touches to get comfortable.

 

[blazerfan11]

I will admit to this as far as Yang goes he really isn’t a great fit for our system. If you don’t take advantage of his passing skills by giving him the ball at top of key and run dribble handoffs of back cuts he probably isn’t going to have much success. I’d also give him some post ups when we have blow outs i think he has some good moves but needs touches to get comfortable.

If I was coaching him last night, I would have told him to not pass the ball after a rebound, but to dribble the ball down the court until someone stopped him. If nobody stops him, take it to the hoop.
In case anyone forgot, Yang can actually dribble the ball behind his back. Dribbling, at his size, is at least not a weakness.

And instead of taking the wide-open 3-pointer, dribble to the hoop and see what the defense does. It may end up looking pathetic, but that's the way to learn. At some point it might look brilliant.

 

[wizenheimer]

It's meaningless.

wrong again!

 

[inconceivable]

Yang is scrutinized like a top 3 plick. Unfair.

 

[wizenheimer]

It very well might be a stupid pick to have taken Yang on many levels.

But his CBA experience just isn't indicative either way - that league is probably more like junior college in the US and just doesn't have any good big men for someone over 7 ft to get useful NBA experience.

I'd estimate the competition level of the CBA is about the same as GLeague and the non-conference games Clingan played at UConn

still, Yang was out there on the floor in game situations for 3500 minutes over 106 games. That's plenty of time to develop his footwork and timing; time to develop recognition. He's not going to get faster with more floor time; he might move with a little more purpose and confidence but he'll still be quite slow. And you can't blame a language barrier for him shooting 29% on FG's and 13% on three's

I know he'll get better, but as long as Clingan is the starter, Yang should not be the primary backup

 

[blazerfan11]

Besides the 8-10 on threes by Camara, there were a couple more 8-10s by Deni, and Scoot.
I hope before the season is over we can see Scoot and Deni starting together and playing 30-35 minutes.
If there were the Splash Brothers, maybe these two are the Crash Brothers?

 

[SharpesTriumph]

Besides the 8-10 on threes by Camara, there were a couple more 8-10s by Deni, and Scoot.
I hope before the season is over we can see Scoot and Deni starting together and playing 30-35 minutes.
If there were the Splash Brothers, maybe these two are the Crash Brothers?

View attachment 81189

Sounds like Scoot has a minute restriction, so until he's available for over 30 mpg I'm happy with him on the 2nd unit. He can come in and run the whole offense with that group. At times along with Deni but other times in place of him.

But if everyone is available for 30+ mpg I like putting Scoot in place of Grant in that starting lineup. Still think Jrue + Scoot are above average defensively. So different than all the years we had of starting two of Dame/CJ/Simons

 

[HailBlazers]

Yang is scrutinized like a top 3 plick. Unfair.

I'm usually patient. BUT.

 

[SharpesTriumph]

So last games before the all star break are the next two days;
Wed @ Minnesota
Thu @ Utah

Utah seems to be tanking - they pulled Lauri and JJJ in a totally winnable game. Probably the most blatant tanking since Dallas did it in the Wemby draft.

So I'm thinking we should play everyone at Minnesota. Go for the win there and then just hope we have enough bodies and energy to get the Utah game the next night as well. If we get up or down big against Minnesota try keeping everyone's minutes down.

Win both and we will be back to .500

 

[Everything Beagle]

Clingan winning national titles was MUCH higher level of competition than Yang over in the CBA. Also all in English.

Not saying Yang will be a good pick - but it was well known that Clingan was very NBA ready when drafted and Yang was not.

Talent wise there was also people legit ranking Clingan #1 overall in his draft - while most had Yang as a 2nd rounder.

I just looked, and he is the best player from the 2024 draft so far, based on Value Over Replacement Player, Win Shares, and Win Shares Per 48 minutes:

https://www.basketball-reference.com/draft/NBA_2024.html

 

[Everything Beagle]

Also, don't look now but 7 of our rotation guys have a PER above 15, and Donovan is nearly in the 20 PER club (19.8). I know PER is passé but this feels like a big deal to me.

 

[wizenheimer]

So last games before the all star break are the next two days;
Wed @ Minnesota
Thu @ Utah

Utah seems to be tanking - they pulled Lauri and JJJ in a totally winnable game. Probably the most blatant tanking since Dallas did it in the Wemby draft.

So I'm thinking we should play everyone at Minnesota. Go for the win there and then just hope we have enough bodies and energy to get the Utah game the next night as well. If we get up or down big against Minnesota try keeping everyone's minutes down.

Win both and we will be back to .500

I'm not sure Utah is tanking...maybe. IIRC they have to finish in the top-8 of the lottery to keep their pick...?

but they didn't pull Lauri & JJJ against Miami, on the road, and won that game. They are playing most of their starters 25 +/- minutes though

 

[SharpesTriumph]

I'm not sure Utah is tanking...maybe. IIRC they have to finish in the top-8 of the lottery to keep their pick...?

but they didn't pull Lauri & JJJ against Miami, on the road, and won that game. They are playing most of their starters 25 +/- minutes though

They pulled them out of the 4th quarter in multiple winnable games. One backfired and the bench won. They're not sitting guys completely, just pulling them out if the game is close. Also not calling a single timeout. Lots of national media like Bobby Marks and Danny Green are criticizing them, questioning their integrity.

Utah pick is top 8 protected for the last year and becomes 2nd rounders owed only if they keep it.

 

[wizenheimer]

They pulled them out of the 4th quarter in multiple winnable games. One backfired and the bench won. They're not sitting guys completely, just pulling them out if the game is close. Also not calling a single timeout. Lots of national media like Bobby Marks and Danny Green are criticizing them, questioning their integrity.

Utah pick is top 8 protected for the last year and becomes 2nd rounders owed only if they keep it.

ok....I haven't really paid attention.

but Markkanen, Jackson, and Keyonte George is a pretty solid trio. If it's a true tank some of their guys will develop mysterious injuries

 

[PCmor7]

Sharpe being out the last few games and the Blazers offense never looking better was something I noticed. Scoot gets others involved in a way Sharpe doesn't.

I don't care if Sharpe scorers 22ppg if the team offense struggles. I'd rather see him with 17ppg but more even shot distribution and more assists like we've seen lately.

The even better thing would just be for Shaedon to become more efficient, to focus on getting to the foul like a couple of more times, to tighten up his handle so he doesn't give up possessions trying to dribble to his spots, to get better figuring out where his spots actually are and to stop chucking up 3-pointers early every game to try to get himself into a flow. He starts too many games slow and wastes possessions getting himself going.