Portland Trail Blazers rookie center Yang Hansen made his first career NBA start during Portland’s 119-96 loss to the Memphis Grizzlies on Sunday. With Donovan Clingan and Robert Williams III both on the injury list, the 7-foot-2 rookie filled in on the road and contributed four points (2-5 shooting), five rebounds, two assists and two turnovers in 19 minutes.
Following the loss, Blazers interim head coach Tiago Splitter told reporters the game served as valuable learning experience for the 20-year-old
center from China, particularly because Yang spent much of the game matched up against the formidable 7-foot-3 center Zach Edey.
I think his beginning wasn’t great, but he finished the game better. It was a great lesson for him to have this experience to go there and play against a big guy similar to his size and strength, so it was a great lesson for him to get better and to work on his game.
True to Splitter’s point, the first half was rocky for Yang. It was also rocky for the Blazers, who trailed by 20 after the first and second quarters. In eight first-half minutes, Yang produced zero points and just one rebound while committing four personal fouls. Then he settled in for a much smoother second half. In 12 second-half minutes, Yang scored four points on nice paint finishes, made a better impact on the boards and committed just one more foul the rest of the way.
Splitter also talked about a controversial play that involved Yang in the early fourth quarter. With about 10 minutes remaining and the Blazers trailing by 10, Yang drove to the basket from the low post and got smacked in the face by an Edey forearm. No foul was called, and Yang lost the ball out of bounds and crumpled to the floor holding his face. The refs didn’t stop the game to check on Yang, and before the Blazers could call a timeout to challenge the call, the Grizzlies inbounded the ball and scored an easy layup on the other end. Splitter got a technical complaining about the sequence, and he explained why in the postgame presser.
I wanted to challenge the call. I thought he was hit, but I was waiting for one of my assistants to watch the film and confirm it. The referee usually gives you a couple seconds there to make sure you watch. I thought that he was too quick. He didn’t give me time. That’s why I was trying to call timeout, and then he started the play already. … I don’t understand. A player is on the floor, you always take time to check if he’s alright, if he’s not. That’s why I got the tech.
Elsewhere in the interview, Splitter gave his thoughts on why the Blazers lost so handily. Among other reasons, Splitter singled out a low-energy start, losing the rebounding battle 65-47, and an impressive scoring performance from Memphis’ second-unit (the Grizzlies outscored Portland 69-35 in bench points).
The Blazers and Yang get some rest before finishing this five-game road trip on Thursday against the New Orleans Pelicans. The extra days off gives some time for Portland’s center rotation to get healthier, so Yang may not have to make his second career start in New Orleans.
