Those who have followed Donovan Clingan and the Trail Blazers throughout the season know that he's only great in particular matchups. The 22-year-old still has room to grow when it comes to consistency, which is even more important considering how important he's become for this roster.
Clingan is arguably the second-best player behind Deni Avdija for Portland this season. Yet head coach Tiago Splitter has had to sit Clingan down the stretch of certain games because it was an unfavorable matchup. That lack of versatility puts Portland at a disadvantage, trying to close out games without one of its best players.
Teams are exploiting Donovan Clingan's drop coverage
As a 7-foot-2, 280-pound center who thrives in drop coverage, Clingan's style of play is only effective against certain bigs. We saw Jarrett Allen's quickness give him trouble in early February, when Allen recorded a career-high 40 points on 16-of-23 shooting, along with 17 rebounds, five assists, four blocks, and two steals. Stretch five Onyeka Okongwu recorded 25 points, ten rebounds, and six assists against Clingan in early March. Atlanta strategically gameplanned to target Clingan, as Okongwu shot 7-of-12 from beyond the arc.
Clingan's still uncomfortable stepping outside of the paint on defense, and teams are well aware of this problem. We've already seen that in these blowout losses, as teams have turned Clingan's strength into a weakness. It's not as problematic over the course of an 82-game regular season. The Blazers simply move on to the next matchup, hoping the next big man on the schedule is a better fit. They won't have that same luxury come playoff time, whether it's this season or next.
Clingan's matchup dependence will be a problem come playoff time
A postseason series is way more matchup-dependent, and one bad matchup for Clingan could threaten the Blazers' entire playoff run. With how many versatile centers there are in the modern NBA, it's only a matter of time before Clingan runs into a matchup that's not in his favor.
The good news is that Portland has insurance in the form of Robert Williams III. He's been one of the most valuable backup bigs in the league, giving them another dimension with his ability to guard out on the perimeter. That may not be a reliable long-term solution, whether due to his injury history or expiring contract. It's also not an ideal formula in general, relying on a backup center because one of your best players can't hold his own.
This will never be a strength of Clingan's, but he needs to become more comfortable to the point that teams don't go out of their way to consistently attack him. Because if he doesn't, it's only going to get harder to mask that flaw come playoff time.