Donovan Clingan has entered a discussion that Blazers fans always saw coming

Donovan Clingan will sadly by no means be one of the best rim protector within the NBA. That’s not his fault, to be truthful — 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 a minimum of truthful to lift the query; is he one of many 5 finest rim protectors within the league? How about high three?

It will get much less loopy by the day. Clingan averaged 2.5 blocks per recreation in March after averaging 2.3 per recreation in February. For the season, he is averaging 1.7 swats per recreation. Plus, with the Blazers posting the fourth-best defensive score within the league after the All-Star break, it is not as if Clingan goes all-out for blocks whereas his staff is down 20 each evening. This protection is legit and Clingan is the muse 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 at the same time as 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 may be a top-five rim protector

Who else could be on this discussion? Chet Holmgren, Rudy Gobert, and Evan Mobley are all within the dialog — and possibly all have arguments (and the resumes) to be positioned forward of DC

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’ large man? Myles Turner will not be the drive 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 but it surely may take a few years to get there.

In different phrases, it is most likely extra of a stretch to go away Clingan out of the “top five rim protector” than it’s to place him in that circle. His block price could also be down this yr, however his foul price is approach down. He’s taking much less dangers and has turn into a extra constant defender due to it.