Blazers News: Chauncey Billups Rates His Top 2 Donovan Clingan Skills

Alex Kirschenbaum | Oct 24, 2024

Oct 18, 2024; Portland, Oregon, USA; Portland Trail Blazers center Donovan Clingan (23) battles for a rebound during the second half against Utah Jazz forward Kyle Filipowski (22) at Moda Center. Mandatory Credit: Troy Wayrynen-Imagn Images / Troy Wayrynen-Imagn Images

Through just the preseason and one regular season contest, 20-year-old rookie Portland Trail Blazers center Donovan Clingan has already impressed his new head coach Chauncey Billups — and already seems to enjoy Billups' approach to leading him, too. Per Sean Highkin of The Rose Garden Report, the 7-foot-2 former University of Connecticut Huskies NCAA champion center has been eager to star in his role for Portland as a rebounding machine.

During the first three minutes of the Blazers' final preseason bout Friday, when Clingan drew his first start for the club, Utah Jazz center Walker Kessler was able to secure a rebound that he and Clingan had been angling to nab, which yielded a second chance opportunity for his team. Billups berated Clingan for the missed opportunity after the fact.

“He said to me, ‘D.C., you can’t grab that rebound?’” Clingan revealed. “So I made sure I grabbed every other one.”

Clingan seems to enjoy that kind of treatment from his new head coach.

“I love it,” Clingan said. “I want to be pushed. I want someone to be hard on me. That’s what I like. That’s how you be great.”

In the 124-86 blowout Blazers victory, Clingan finished with 14 points on 7-of-12 shooting from the field, 20 rebounds, four assists and four blocks, while playing 24 minutes.

“I wanted to push his minutes more tonight,” Billups said after the game. “And even when he got tired, keep an eye on him, but push him. I thought he did a really good job. What impressed me the most was, even when he got tired, he kept talking.”

During Clingan's official regular season debut, a 139-104 defeat to the Golden State Warriors on Wednesday, Clingan played 13 minutes, scored two points, grabbed a pair of rebounds, blocked one shot and swiped a steal.

“He’s about where I thought he’d be,” Billups said, before revealed the big man's top attributes thus far. “He’s young, he has no experience. But he does two things right off the top. He rebounds—and for his size, he does a good job of rebounding outside of his area. Not just the ones that come to him. And then his rim protection. I think right now, the speed of some of these guys surprises him. Where he’d easily block those [shots] in college, they’re getting over him. So the speed of the game he has to catch up to. But those two things, he’ll be pretty elite at. He’ll only get better.”

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