Will Donovan Clingan Play? Full Blazers vs Pelicans Injury Report

Ricardo Klein | Jan 8, 2025

Dec 26, 2024; Portland, Oregon, USA; Portland Trail Blazers center Donovan Clingan (23) high fives Deandre Ayton (2, left) as he heads back to the bench during the first half against the Utah Jazz at Moda Center. Mandatory Credit: Soobum Im-Imagn Images / Soobum Im-Imagn Images

The Portland Trail Blazers will look for their 13th win of the season against the New Orleans Pelicans; however, they will be without their top rookie center, Donovan Clingan.

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Clingan is ruled out due to rest.

INJURY UPDATE: Donovan Clingan is OUT for tonight’s game @ NOP. Deni Avdija is AVAILABLE to play. https://t.co/lw7tIy98nb

— Trail Blazers PR (@TrailBlazersPR) January 8, 2025

Wednesday night marks the first of a back-to-back for the Blazers, and they elected to rest Clingan so he could play Thursday in Dallas.

Blazers centers Deandre Ayton and Robert Williams III will likely occupy the big man minutes for the Blazers.

The Blazers will look to get the win without their rookie big man, who has been solid for them as we approach the halfway mark of the season. Clingan has not been a monster when it comes to scoring the basketball, but he has been cleaning up the glass.

In his latest outing against the Detroit Pistons, Clingan scored four points, five rebounds, and one assist in 13 minutes. In his rookie season, Clingan has been averaging 5.4 points per game, 5.9 rebounds, 0.6 assists, and 1.5 blocks while shooting 51 percent from the field in 28 games and 15.8 minutes of action.

The Blazers' center position is a bit of a log jam, as two other players are getting the minutes when they are wealthy. Because of that, the Blazers could look to trade the other two centers as we approach the trade deadline.

Clingan has proven that he is the future big man for the Blazers, and we'll see if they pull the trigger on a trade in less than a month.

The Blazers will look for their 13th win of the season and their fifth road win.

The Trail Blazers have gone 10-20 against Western Conference opponents. Portland is seventh in the league with 12.3 offensive rebounds per game, led by Deandre Ayton, who is averaging 2.8.

The Pelicans are 3-18 in Western Conference games. New Orleans gives up 117.1 points and is outscored by 9.9 points per game.

The Blazers have been underwhelming in their last 10 games. They have a 4-6 record and are averaging 111.4 points, 44.6 rebounds, 25.6 assists, 7.2 steals and 4.5 blocks per game while shooting 47.6 percent from the field. Their opponents have averaged 118.7 points.

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