Trail Blazers and team reporters: Yang Hansen’s defense still has problems, and going to the Development League will be helpful

The Portland Trail Blazers talked with team reporter Mike Richman on his podcast "Locked On Blazers" about Yang Hansen's performance after returning to the team from the NBA Development League and some areas where he currently needs to improve.

Richman said: In this game against the Phoenix Suns, his performance in the first half was a little unstable. On defense, he once had his hands in the wrong position in a pick-and-roll, and he also had trouble settling back. For a player who is 216cm tall, he must be tougher on defense. Another time, Nick Richards scored directly over his head. While this isn't a huge deal, it's something he definitely needs to improve on. In addition, he also made some mistakes. He tried to pass some impossible balls, and the actual results were not ideal. Young is a good passer and he understands passing, but he doesn't yet understand which passes are feasible and which are not feasible in the NBA. He is still in the process of learning how to control mistakes.

Richman continued: Nonetheless, I think we saw the benefits of him being sent to the NBA Development League. I'm trying to find something positive to talk about, especially when a team isn't playing well, so I'm also going to talk about some of Yang Hansen's moves in the post. For example, in this game, he scored very confidently in a low post attack. I think all of this is the benefit he brought after being sent to the NBA Development League. Through such lower-level competitions, Yang Hansen has improved somewhat in terms of confidence and skills, which is directly reflected in his performance in the competition.

In the game against the Suns, Yang Hansen played for 13 minutes and 8 seconds, shooting 4 of 7, 0 of 2 from beyond the three-point line, and 1 of 1 free throw. He scored 9 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists, and 1 block. He also made 3 turnovers, with a plus-minus of +2. Among them, 9 points, 5 rebounds and 3 assists are all single-game highs since Yang Hansen entered the NBA. Since the start of this season, Yang Hansen has played a total of 6 times in the first 14 NBA regular season games, averaging 7.1 minutes per game, averaging 3 points, 1.5 rebounds, 0.5 assists, 0.5 blocks per game, 1 turnover and 0.7 fouls, shooting 37.5% from the field, 0% from three-point range, and 85.7% from the free throw line. In the NBA Development League this season, Yang Hansen has played a total of 2 times so far, averaging 29.8 minutes per game, averaging 14.5 points, 11 rebounds, 3.5 assists, 1 steal, and 2 blocks per game. He also has 3.5 turnovers and 3 fouls. His field goal percentage is 44.4%, three-point shooting percentage is 28.6%, and free throw percentage is 66.7%.