Summer League Notebook: Donovan Clingan’s defense impresses in Las Vegas debut

LAS VEGAS — Anyone who watched the NCAA Tournament knows former UConn big man Donovan Clingan is a feared rim protector. Every hoops fan knows Clingan as an old-school big man who relies on his 7'2" frame to dominate.

However, those things hit different when you see him play in person — he is huge and an intimidating force in the paint who can reach a level only a handful of other players in the NBA can match. Clingan’s defense was everything as advertised during his Summer League debut and he finished with five blocked shots (including one on college teammate Stephon Castle).

Also accurate from the pre-draft hype was Clingan’s need to improve on offense, where he was 1-of-8 shooting, including 0-of-3 from beyond the arc.

“I wish I still... protected the rim a little better, I was able to shoot the ball better. I just wasn’t able to find my shot today,” Clingan said.

Clingan’s strengths — defense and on the glass — make him valuable to Portland right now. He will come off the bench behind Deandre Ayton at first and gives the Trail Blazers a huge center combination.

However, for Clingan to reach his true potential, he will need improved offense and better conditioning (he was gassed at points Saturday). The conditioning should come quickly, but the offense will be a project.

His first Summer League outing should give Trail Blazers fans hope — there is a good, maybe great, player in Clingan. One who can be part of what is being built in the Pacific Northwest. He can be the center of the future, he’s just got some work to do.

Here are some other notes from Day 2 of the Las Vegas Summer League.

• Miami almost set the record for most points in a Summer League game.

The record is 120 points, shared by the 2022 Grizzlies and 2007 Nuggets. Miami beat the Celtics in the most entertaining game of the day, 119-114 — it was just a pure shootout. The Heat had a chance at the end of the game but couldn’t convert it to set the record.

One quick question for the Heat: Why is Jaime Jaquez playing? He racked up 29/11/5, but what is he gaining from being here? It’s time to shut him down for the summer.

• Same question to Charlotte: Nobody could figure out why the Hornets sent Brandon Miller to Summer League. He doesn’t need to be here, he had 23 points and eight rebounds, plus shot 5-of-10 from 3. Come on Hornets, shut him down.

• Bulls draft pick Matas Buzelis showed flashes, but — like all of the high draft picks in Las Vegas this year — he’s got a lot of work to do. Buzelis showed off the handles to create space, but his shooting is a work in progress (as was a concern before the draft). He finished with 15 points on 4-of-15 shooting and 0-of-4 from 3. He clearly didn’t trust that shot, he preferred attacking a closeout to shooting the 3 (he did get to the line 11 times.

• The Knicks may have something in second-round pick Tyler Kolek out of Marquette. He has fantastic court vision and enough handles to get to the spot to make the pass, plus just a good feel for the game. He finished with seven assists — and would have had a lot more with teammates who could finish (welcome to Summer League, Tyler) — to go with seven points and seven rebounds. It was easy for stretches to see him as a second-unit point guard.

The questions at the draft, the reason he fell to the second round (No. 34), were about his defense. He got blown by a few times in this game, and if that keeps happening Tom Thibodeau is not about to put him on the court. He’s got a guaranteed contract so Kolek will be on the Knicks this season and we’ll see if he can carve out a role.

• Hornets No. 6 pick Tidjane Salaun was as advertised —he is a long, fluid athlete, and you can see the potential upside on some of his drives and the confidence he plays with. He has the physical gifts you can’t teach.

It’s also clear how far he has to go, for example shooting 0-of-3 from 3 (but 3-of-4 inside the arc). Salaun is a long-term play but looks like a guy worth the roll of the dice by the Hornets.

• Dunk of the day goes to Bucks second-year player Andre Jackson Jr., who anticipated the MarJon Beauchamp miss and timed the putback dunk perfectly.

• Unless this late-game breakaway dunk by the 76ers tops it:

• Pistons second-round pick Bobi Klintman could be a second-round steal. It’s one Summer League game, but he impressed with 13 points (3-of-7 from 3), plus five assists and five rebounds.

“I bring a lot of versatility,” Klintman said. “I can guard multiple positions, play at multiple positions, knock-down shooting, can move off the ball, make others better on the team.”

The fluid athleticism was on display in Vegas, as was the maturity of a guy who played against men in Australia last season and not college — he handled the speed and physicality of Summer League well.

Let’s see how that translates in future games and in training camp, but it was a promising start and you can see why the Pistons signed him to a four-year, $8 million contract (the first two years are guaranteed).