Donovan Clingan's drop coverage makes him susceptible in particular matchups. That's become problematic for the Portland Trail Blazers because, in the modern NBA, almost half the teams have a center capable of effectively spacing the floor.
We just recently saw that in Portland's frustrating 135-101 blowout loss to the Atlanta Hawks. Onyeka Okongwu's three-point shooting was giving Clingan matchup problems, as Atlanta's big man finished with a game-high 25 points after going 7-of-12 from beyond the arc.
This shouldn't come as a surprise either. Hawks head coach Quin Snyder has strategically made it a point of emphasis to exploit Clingan.
The Blazers won the first matchup of the season on Jan. 15, but Okongwu attempted a season-high 15 threes that game! For context, he's attempting 5.4 per game this season. Okongwu nearly tripled his shots from beyond the arc against Portland by design, pointing out a flaw in their defensive approach.
The blueprint for attacking the Blazers is out
It's not a good sign that Clingan is the one whom teams are attacking, considering he's the physical rim protector that gives them their defensive identity in the first place. That goes hand in hand with the game plan to expose his weaknesses rather than let him play to his strengths.
It doesn't work in every matchup, but Atlanta gave teams the blueprint for attacking this Blazers defense. That's going to become an issue when they eventually return to the postseason. In a seven-game series, matchups matter more than ever. Portland will inevitably run into a team that has a stretch five.
It's something they have to live with because they simply don't have a choice. They can't trade away their building block, who has already established himself as a quality starting-caliber center. It's not something Clingan can drastically improve either, as it's hard not to get exposed on the perimeter when you are 7-foot-2, 280 pounds. Tiago Splitter could change his coverage, and Clingan can continue to improve his conditioning, but this will always be a flaw in Portland's roster.
The next step in Clingan's evolution is to develop more of a post-game so that he can make that tradeoff worth it. He had four inches and 40 pounds on Okongwu, yet didn't capitalize on that mismatch on the other end outside of his elite offensive rebounding ability.
Clingan's two-way impact as a rebounder, rim protector, and, suddenly, shooter, gives Portland a lot to be excited about at the center position going forward. But it's this inability to guard on the perimeter, or at the very least, attempt to contest three-point shots that continues to be a problem.
While he can try to address it to a certain extent, it's starting to look like a drastic tradeoff the Blazers have to live with.