Is Donovan Clingan playing tonight against Washington Wizards? Latest on Blazers center's status for Summer League game (July 16)

Rookie center Donovan Clingan aims to continue his improvement in the NBA Summer League as the Portland Trail Blazers take on the Washington Wizards tonight. The 7-foot-2 seventh overall pick had an eight-point, 11-rebound, and five-assist performance on Monday. Tonight, he's set to play in his first back-to-back game.

Following his debut on Saturday, where he scored four points, 13 rebounds and five blocks in the loss against the San Antonio Spurs, Clingan said the defense shouldn't be affected by his poor offense.

"No matter how poorly you play on the offensive end, that shouldn’t affect your defense,” Clingan said via The Oregonian. "Defense wins ballgame. So, you got to protect the rim at a high level.

The Blazers are squaring off against a Wizards team that features 7-foot-1-second overall pick Alex Sarr, who has been staunch defensively in his debut this summer.

Sarr struggled in his second summer league game on Sunday, going 4-14 from the field and 0-5 from three. However, he had a bigger impact on defense, recording four blocks in his first game against the Atlanta Hawks last week, a 94-88 victory.

Clingan contributes all around in win over Philadelphia 76ers

The Trail Blazers eeked out a 97-95 win Monday, and Clingan had his prints all over the game.

Clingan was crucial on the most important possession of the game — challenging the inbound pass from 76ers rookie guard Jared McCain and forcing a rare and costly five-second violation that helped secure the win for the Trail Blazers.

The 7-foot-2 center leaped and flailed his arms in front of McCain, who struggled to pass around the former UConn big. Moreover, Clingan opened up the second half with a poster dunk over 76ers rookie Adem Bona that brought his teammates and fans to their feet.

The match against the Wizards tips off at 8:30 p.m. EST. The Wizards are 1.5-point favorites in Las Vegas.

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