With Robert Williams III still out with a hamstring injury, Donovan Clingan was expected to play a bigger role in the regular season opener, especially due to the Portland Trail Blazers’ size advantage over the more talented but smaller Golden State Warriors . However, Clingan surprisingly played only 13 minutes in the Blazers’ 139-104 loss to the Warriors.

The Blazers’ No. 7 overall pick finished with just two points, two rebounds, one steal, one block and one turnover in what appeared to be an inviting matchup for him. Understandably, Clingan didn’t see significant minutes. He played just 22.5 minutes per game during his second season at UConn, and he needs to ramp up his conditioning to play impactful long stretches at the NBA level.

Still, head coach Chauncey Billups should have played Clingan more. He had just seven minutes in the first half, when the team trailed 62-50. They also lost the restorative battle at the half, 35 to 26.

On paper, the Blazers were clearly outmatched in terms of talent. The only thing they had in their favor was their roster size as the top team in the NBA this season. Not having their 7-foot-2, 282-pound center play for at least 20 minutes is a disservice to the one advantage they had that could potentially pull off the upset.

Billups could even have experimented with a “Twin Towers” ​​lineup with Ayton and Clingan or Duop Reath (who only saw three foul minutes) on the field together. While it would have compromised their floor spacing offensively and made them vulnerable to giving up more open looks from three on defense, the Warriors still shot 41.7 percent from deep and won the game by 35 points. It’s not like they had much to lose in terms of experimenting with unique setups.

Clingan needs to get better at transitioning to shooters when he switches to pick-and-rolls. There were multiple instances where guards like Buddy Hield and De’Anthony Melton hit threes because he didn’t contest the shot close enough.

But the Warriors immediately felt Clingan’s defensive paint presence once he was inside. They seemed more reluctant to attempt shots in the paint, and the Blazers’ team strength at their size compared to the Warriors was much more apparent when he was inside compared to Ayton.

Offensively, Clingan was only effective when a guard allowed him to look wide open in the paint. That was to be expected, as much of what made him a coveted draft prospect came from what Clingan brought to the table beyond his scoring, which impacted the win with his rebounding, rim protection, passing and overall basketball IQ.

Ayton was expected to take more advantage of the Warriors’ lack of size in terms of scoring, but only finished with ten points on 5-12 shooting from the field.

Clingan’s season opener was very disappointing, as he didn’t make his mutual presence felt as clearly as expected. There were promising signs, especially on defense, but it’s difficult to gain much momentum as a player when you only play thirteen minutes.

This figure has as much to do with Billups’ inability to play against a rookie who was ranked in the top ten in a blowout loss to a rebuilding team as it does with Clingan.

Grade: D