Blazers reporter: Yang Hansen likely done with Summer League, still hard to get rotation minutes in new season

On July 14, Beijing time, Blazers reporter Mike Richman discussed Yang Hansen on a show, summarizing his performance in the Summer League opener and revealing that the center has likely played his last Summer League game. Considering the current interior situation of the Trail Blazers, Richman believes Yang Hansen will still find it difficult to enter the rotation in the new season. His analysis is as follows —

Yang Hansen’s scoring methods mostly involve catching the ball away from the basket and driving with the ball, a unique skill set. But you rarely see him receiving the ball in the low post and using his size to power through. The team seldom feeds him the ball in the low post. Even when he rolls to the rim after a pick-and-roll, he doesn’t aggressively seal his position to demand the ball. Part of it is his playing style, part is the team’s tactical arrangement, and part is that against NBA-level big men, he still can’t consistently secure a favorable spot. After failing to back down Maluach in the low post, the team basically stopped running low-post plays for him. Additionally, Yang Hansen grabbed several offensive rebounds but chose to look for an outside pass rather than go for a strong second-chance attempt.

Overall, we saw the attractive aspects of this young big man:His driving threat remains, and his passing vision is evident. In the fourth quarter, he delivered several brilliant passes, showcasing his innate passing instincts. On defense, in a few low-post matchups against Maluach, he held his ground against physical contact, with good defensive results. The team currently has him executing a drop coverage scheme, which will also be his primary defensive role in the future.

Even in drop coverage, he was often beaten by ball handlers. Opponents used serpentine dribbles to move him, forcing him to chase laterally away from the basket. Once lured out of the paint, they simply lobbed the ball for a cut and dunk, easily executing their tactical adjustment. Overall,his lateral defensive movement is slow, and his anticipation is lacking.

In the Summer League opener, Yang Hansen played 26 minutes. Richman shared his impression: throughout the game, Yang Hansen was not the best player on the court, but he was indeed a huge big man with unique driving and passing talent. At the same time, his defensive issues were very prominent. Both strengths and weaknesses were fully exposed.

In the second game, Yang Hansen was absent due to illness, officially listed as a coach’s decision not to play. The team chose to rest him for health considerations.Richman stated that Yang Hansen’s Summer League journey is likely over. If he is not in good physical condition, the team will not risk playing him in the third game. As for Friday’s Summer League finale, the chances of him playing are also very low.

Richman also mentioned that Yang Hansen will likely still be outside the regular rotation in the new season. There are multiple centers ahead of him on the roster: Robert Williams and Clingan are both ahead of him in the rotation. The front office brought in Carlson and Porter to add depth at center and experiment with twin-tower lineups, while also serving as insurance for Williams’ injury history. The Trail Blazers, aiming to stay competitive, won’t rely on Yang Hansen to play 24 minutes every night. Considering his rookie season performance, this Summer League game hasn’t changed Richman’s view of him.