Blazers may have uncovered their own Sengun-Thompson duo in second preseason game

Portland Trail Blazers rookie Yang Hansen recovered nicely from a rough preseason debut against the Golden State Warriors. He looked much more like a rookie center who was ready to make an immediate impact in Portland's frontcourt rotation in their one-point win over the Sacramento Kings. In just his second preseason game, Hansen finished with 16 points, four rebounds, one assist, and three blocks, which is even more impressive considering he played 17 minutes.

Although he only had one assist in this contest, it was a loud one that excited Blazers fans as it gave them a glimpse into the future of what this young core could eventually look like playing together.

We saw throughout summer league that Hansen was trying to make these exact same backdoor passes, but they oftentimes resulted in turnovers. But things are much different now, as the playmaking big man now has Shaedon Sharpe, one of the best athletes in the entire NBA, on the receiving end.

Yang Hansen's passing pairs perfectly with Shaedon Sharpe's athleticism

Dare we say that one play was reminiscent of another up-and-coming duo in Houston?

There are a lot of parallels between the Rockets and Blazers' rebuilding approaches. Houston previously added Fred VanVleet and Dillon Brooks to help accelerate their rebuilding timeline, and their young core progressed so much to the point where they caught up to the window of their veterans. The Blazers are hoping a similar leap happens soon, with the Jrue Holiday addition being their version of VanVleet.

Hansen and Sharpe have shown throughout this offseason that they have two of the highest ceilings on Portland's roster; these could be the two players who help Portland achieve that Houston-like jump. That said, we need to pump the brakes a bit because Hansen and Sharpe still have quite a ways to go before coming key pieces on a contender like Sengun and Thompson are for the Rockets.

One of Hansen's most glaring flaws that could prevent him from becoming Sengun is his quickness. Sengun has sneaky athleticism, which is an underrated reason why the Rockets have been able to effectively play a double-big lineup with him alongside Steven Adams. Hansen will need to address that aspect of his game if he wants to see significant minutes, as starter Donovan Clingan doesn't appear to be leaving the picture anytime soon.

There may be even a wider gap between Sharpe and Thompson in terms of their varying skill sets. Thompson has already emerged as one of the league's premier defenders, while Sharpe... got benched last season because he couldn't play defense.

Reports from the training camp suggest that Sharpe has been more locked in on that side of the ball, which has appeared to be the case in preseason so far (a looming contract extension will do that to a player). With his elite athleticism and positional size, Sharpe has all the physical tools to eventually become more impactful on that side of the ball.

It's not a perfect comparison by any means, but this is what the Blazers should be aiming for. In pursuit of Hansen becoming more like Sengun and Sharpe becoming more like Thompson, each player will be working towards fixing their most significant weaknesses.

Once that happens, the Blazers will finally be ready to add that Kevin Durant-level superstar to become legitimate contenders.