Donovan Clingan has quietly emerged as one of the NBA's top defensive forces
Through HoopsHype research, we tracked how Donovan Clingan has emerged as a defensive juggernaut in March.
When it comes to the defensive end, we’ve heard plenty about Victor Wembanyama and how his impact has taken the Spurs from good to elite on that end. And rightfully so. However, there needs to be more talk about the defensive prowess of Blazers center Donovan Clingan .
In just his second season, Clingan has nearly doubled his scoring from 6. 5 to over 12 points per game, while boosting his rebounding to 11. 6 and maintaining his shot-blocking at 1.
7 per game. Much of that growth can be attributed to seven additional minutes per game and 0. 5 fewer fouls.
In other words, he's learned how to defend without getting into foul trouble as frequently as he did as a rookie. During media day, Clingan talked about how he worked on his conditioning during the offseason and how his being winded was affecting his ability to run back and forth down the court. "I'm in a lot better shape," Clingan said .