Donovan Clingan will sadly by no means be one of the best rim protector within the NBA. That’s not his fault, to be honest — he simply occurs to be within the league concurrently Victor Wembanyama, who’s trending towards being one of the best rim protector within the historical past of the league.
But as March involves a shut, and Cling Kong closes out another completely dominant month, it is at the very least honest to lift the query; is he one of many 5 greatest rim protectors within the league? How about high three?
It will get much less loopy by the day. Clingan averaged 2.5 blocks per sport in March after averaging 2.3 per sport in February. For the season, he is averaging 1.7 swats per sport. Plus, with the Blazers posting the fourth-best defensive ranking within the league after the All-Star break, it isn’t as if Clingan goes all-out for blocks whereas his crew is down 20 each evening. This protection is legit and Clingan is the inspiration for that.
Clingan got here into this league with the potential to be a defensive anchor. From his first few video games, Blazers fans knew that scouting report was correct. It took Clingan a little bit of time to get common starter minutes (because it normally does for rookie facilities) however whilst he was working his approach into the rotation, his impression jumped off the display. It’s not a shock to Blazers fans that Clingan has rapidly developed into a top-tier defender.
Donovan Clingan could be a top-five rim protector
Who else can be on this discussion? Chet Holmgren, Rudy Gobert, and Evan Mobley are all within the dialog — and doubtless all have arguments (and the resumes) to be positioned forward of D.C.
After that… Is there anybody else within the league we will say with confidence has extra of an impression across the rim than the Blazers’ huge man? Myles Turner is just not the power he was a few years in the past in Indiana, Isaiah Stewart is a tone-setter in Detroit however is not the general defender that Clingan is, and Ryan Kalkbrenner has a likelihood to be elite however would possibly take a few years to get there.
In different phrases, it is in all probability extra of a stretch to depart Clingan out of the “top five rim protector” than it’s to place him in that circle. His block charge could also be down this yr, however his foul charge is approach down. He’s taking much less dangers and has grow to be a extra constant defender due to it.
