
The Portland Trail Blazers spent the 2024 and 2025 NBA Drafts bulking up at the center position. Donovan Clingan became their lottery pick in the seventh slot in ‘24. Yang Hansen was a surprise pick in ‘25 after the Blazers traded down in the draft from position 11.
This new fondness for centers has Portland fans thinking: what happens if the Twin Towers model gets resurrected in Rip City? That’s the subject of today’s Blazer’s Edge Mailbag question.
Dave,
I’m stoked about Yang but what about Donovan
ADnow? Drafting two guards in a row makes sense because both can play at once. Two centers might get in each others way. Do you see Cling Kong and Yang being able to play together at the same time?
Melody
I don’t see the two interfering with each other at first because both are early in their development. The NBA is going to hold surprises for Yang. Clingan has adapted somewhat but his game is still limited, especially on offense. Inherently, each will allow space for something else, necessitate it really. If that “something else” filling in the gaps ends up being the other young center, that’s fine.
If anything, both centers still have to worry about a healthy Robert Williams III at this point. He would probably start over either if he can manage it. He plays a different style than the hulking seven-footers but I don’t believe Head Coach Chauncey Billups would be able to keep Williams off the floor if he can go. The Blazers may yet trade the veteran, but if he’s on the roster, he’s the main competition for Clingan’s and Yang’s center minutes, not each other.
As far as playing together, it’s a tempting thought. I’m not sure it would actually work in real life.
On the surface, Yang and Clingan are different enough to complement each other on offense. The Blazers had Yang setting up way high on the floor in Summer League. Since his vision and passing ability appear to be long-range and extend down the middle of the floor, odds are they will keep him there, at least initially. Clingan is bound down low, in a completely different area of the court. The two probably won’t interfere with each other directly. So far, so good.
The problem is, Clingan needing to hang by the rim messes up all of the action on Yang’s passes. Yang wants to hit cutters. Clingan’s defender will be right in the space they’re cutting to, clogging up the middle. Yang isn’t a three-point threat yet either. That leaves another defender to sag down low. With two-fifths of Portland’s perimeter offense toothless, the demands on the other three players increases. Field one more non-shooter alongside Clingan and Yang and pretty much the whole defense can clog the middle with impunity. Now Donovan can’t catch or finish because of the traffic, cutters have no space at all, and Yang has nobody to pass to. At that point all the defense has to do is close on any remaining shooters and the Blazers are done.
Running a twin towers system on defense might work better. It depends on how mobile and effective Yang can be. We know Clingan operates best in the middle of the floor. Yang would need more range, becoming the help defender while Clingan provides the wall down low. That’s going to require speed and stamina that Yang may not have.
The Blazers could go into some kind of 3-2 zone scheme, but that’s going to be threatened if the opponent goes to the corner to draw one of the centers out to the perimeter. Neither big man is good at closing out. The corner three is one of the deadliest shots in the NBA. That’s not a good recipe. Even if the center does get out there, the offense is one or two passes from a diagonal or weak-side three.
Maybe the Blazers can make a two-center defensive system work? Their coaches are certainly smarter than I am. But on the surface it seems like these two centers with their mobility issues, lack of experience, and level of defensive awareness/comfort are not going to be suited for playing together initially.
Who knows what develops down the road, though? If Portland ushered in a devastating new seven-foot behemoth attack, it’d certainly be unique. Maybe the next era after pace-and-space will be the Time of the Giants. If so, the Blazers have a head start.
Thanks for the question! You can always send yours in to blazersub@gmail.com and we’ll try to answer as many as possible!
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