Exclusive Why I'm Excited about the 2025-26 season

pretty sure it is all fake news. was it larry ellison's short story that speculated we were all just living in the dream of iran's original ayatollahs? too many dead brain cells under the bridge to remember.

 

I think Clingan is massively underrated. But, he's my favorite Blazer, so maybe I'm biased. What do the numbers say? If he plays 30 mpg this season with the same efficiency as last season (I actually expect him to improve), his averages would be...

Rebounding: (30/19.8)*7.9 = 12.0 rpg, which would have been 6th in the league.
Blocked Shots: (30/19.8)*1.6 = 2.5 bpg, which would have been 1st in the league.
Points: (30/19.8)*6.5 = 9.9 ppg, which means that he'll basically average a double-double.

He'd have been the only player in the league to be top 6 in the league in both rebounds and blocks.

Today's Exciting Video: Donovan "Klingon"

 

you might want to revisit your blocked shot calculation. Wemby blocked 3.8/game

 

Apparently, Wemby did not qualify according to espn:


Regardless, having a player who averages 2.5 bpg would be "good" to have, Wemby or no. It's also worth noting that many high bpg guys in the past hunt blocks in favor of playing solid defense. Clingan doesn't really do that (maybe hence the high rebounding rate).

 

wasn't arguing the point really, but since you were normalizing Clingan to 30 minutes you probably should have mentioned Wemby, even if he didn't have enough games to qualify. Clingan was great at blocking shots but he also was great at altering shots he didn't block

you forgot to mention Clingan's power on the offensive glass. He was one of the best in the NBA, and possessions after offensive rebounds are about the most efficient possession in basketball

 

I don't know if Clingan can stay on the court 30 minutes a game reliably due to the fouling he does, but his per 30s would be:

9.88 points, 11.94 rebounds, 2.49 blocks, and 4.28 fouls

Also, that .596 FT% needs to go up or he'll be sitting out of key stretches of the 4th for fear of intentional fouling.

(EDIT: sorry I didn't see the earlier post)

 

I feel like he'll also improve, so I'm pretty stoked. Even if he doesn't, he'll be great if he just ups his minutes to 30. Regardless, it'll be interesting to so how he does.

 

Oh yeah make no mistake, I'm excited to see him out there.

 

Clingan needs a go-to shot in the key. A hook shot would be unblockable. Few centers of his size should ever put the ball on the floor other than maybe one dribble. He needs to catch and shoot. He needs a set shot from the arc, a set shot from about 15, and a go-to move in the paint.

 

I'd like to see all our bigs develop the Duncan bank shot from the elbow or paint..using the glass is such an underrated midrange shot. Hook shot and floater as well.

 

Thybulle only played 22 games last year, but in those games he shot 43.8% from 3. If he shoots 38% from 3 next year, it'll be fire!


Fun (1 minute long) Thybulle video from last season:

 

There used to be a coach named John Wooden who demanded that his players shoot bank shots. IIRC he was a pretty successful coach.

 

Love that Jordan is on that list. Where’s LeBron?

 

Nice. You know the video I'd love to see? A montage of all of the players who had the ball in the paint, saw DC, and dribbled away from the basket. He intimidates guards in the paint. Call the video something like "They Run Away from Donovan Clingan".

 

at least a half dozen times a game, probably more, I saw opposing players penetrating the Blazer defense nad gtting up shot. Clingan didn't block those shot but he intimidated the shooter and altered the shots

Clingan, as a rookie, was a better NBA C than Ayton in his 7th season

 

Which will likely apply to Yang as well. In this era of analytics, there are more players who will decide not to take a possibly more-difficult-than-necessary 2-point- shot and instead pass the ball.

 

Yang can show him how to keep the ball high.

 

Yang isn't the physical force that Clingan is. Not sure he'll ever be. In SL, Clingan essentially blocked twice a many shots as Yang. Clingan was a monster on the glass too, especially on the offensive end. Yang was pretty weak at rebounding. Clingan averaged 12.3 rebounds and 3.5 on offense; Yang average 5 & 1; Caleb Love outrebounded Yang

I'd anticipate Yang to try and play with a little more finesse and Clingan to play a more intimidating style on defense and the boards. They really aren't similar players, except for height, but the sample size for Yang is way too small to gauge much of anything honestly. I think he's a lot more of a project than Clingan was