2 Portland Trail Blazers players who need more playing time

The Portland Trail Blazers have a deep bench filled with players under the radar. Nearly all 15 players can make a strong case for seeing more minutes; that's crucial as they navigate the long regular season inevitably filled with unfortunate injuries. It also helps the Blazers win games as unexpected x-factors can step up. But at the same time, it's also essential for Chauncey Billups to shorten their rotations and give more minutes to only certain players to allow them to get into more of a rhythm.

1. Donovan Clingan

Donovan Clingan is out for at least two weeks after suffering a Grade 2 MCL sprain. In his place, Robert Williams III and Duop Reath are candidates to see increased roles and minutes to spell Deandre Ayton. But when "Cling Kong" returns, he needs to see more than the 17 minutes per game he's averaged this season.

It's unreasonable to expect Clingan to play 30-plus minutes a night at this career stage. He averaged just 22.5 minutes per game as a sophomore at UConn and still needs to ramp up his conditioning before playing starter minutes at the NBA level. But Clingan has been incredibly effective in his limited opportunities so far. On a per-36 basis, he's leading the entire league in blocks (4.6) and is sixth in rebounds (14.2).

Clingan was recently snubbed in the latest NBA rookie ladder, and a primary reason was that he had played significantly fewer minutes than those who made it. It's time he receives closer to the 24-26-minute range that several of the rookies on the list are playing.

2. Dalano Banton

Dalano Banton has played 16.2 minutes per game with the Blazers, which is significantly more than expected. At the end of the offseason, there was a possibility that the Blazers wouldn't even pick up Banton's player option for 2024-25. He's picked up right where he left off last season with the Blazers, where he took advantage of their injury-plagued roster to earn his spot going forward.

There were serious question marks surrounding whether Banton could be impactful in a reduced role, as he's someone who thrives with the ball in his hands but isn't necessarily skilled enough to be a go-to player. However, he's been a consistent cog in Portland's offense, averaging 9.9 points, 2.4 assists, 2.3 rebounds, and 1.1 steals per game on 43/40/66 shooting splits.

Banton's playing so well to the point where he should see 20-plus minutes a game, similar to Clingan. He's a versatile player who can play multiple positions at 6-foot-8, so it should be easy for Billups to fit him in with different lineup combinations.

His length helps add to the Blazers' team strength, but his offensive prowess significantly helps their weaknesses as well. The Blazers are towards the bottom of the league in both offensive rating and three-point shooting, and Banton is one of the only reliable three-point shooters on Portland's roster. That alone should be enough to justify playing him more minutes.