Hansen Yang is recalled and has no chance? Team reporter: He can beat Timmy, but there is no Timmy in the NBA.

On November 19, Trail Blazers reporter Mike Richman talked about Yang Hansen’s recent performance in the Development League in the latest podcast and analyzed his current situation after returning to the Trail Blazers. Judging from Richman's report, Hexion is still unlikely to enter the Trail Blazers' rotation. The following is related content from his podcast -

Yang Hansen played two games in the Development League before. I missed one of his games, so I will only talk about the second game I watched: he scored 21 points, performed very well, and also blocked 3 shots.

I can say with certainty that if Yang Hansen could meet Drew Timmy (G League Player of the Week last week, averaging 30 points, 7 rebounds and 4.7 assists per game) in the NBA, Timmy would definitely be blown away. If Drew Timmy is defending in the penalty area, pass the ball to Hexion. If they really meet in the NBA, just give the ball to Hexion and let him play. Timmy can't guard him at all. Hexion is too strong.

However, there are not many players like Timmy in the NBA. To be honest, there is no Timmy in the NBA now. He spent some time with the Nets last season, scored a lot of points, and his offensive performance was indeed impressive, but after all, he is not an NBA-level player.

In these games in the Development League, Hexion's offensive performance was much better than in the summer league, which is very important. The environment in the summer league is different. Most of the players around them are higher than those in the Development League. The overall confrontation intensity is greater and the scene is more chaotic. It’s not that players in the G League don’t work hard, it’s just not like the summer league where everyone is trying their best to get an NBA contract. The Summer League is a two-week "job search" in Las Vegas, and everyone is working hard; while the Development League is a full season of 40 games, and the players' rhythm will be more stable. Although they will work hard, the mentality is completely different from the Summer League. But the quality of basketball in the Development League is indeed higher, there is no doubt about it.

Hexion made two three-pointers at the end of the second game, but there were still some problems with his defensive positioning. It's not that he can't block shots, but when he is a help defender, he is always half a step away from the ball - either he is not enough to help defend, or he sinks too deep into the penalty area and cannot effectively affect the opponent's offense, especially when helping to defend the pick-and-roll on the weak side. I don’t think he has that natural defensive instinct right now.

Fortunately, he is tall enough, and defensive positioning can be taught through training. For shorter players, their intuition and ability to predict when defending are innate, but it is different for tall players. Even if Hexion is not a natural positional defender now, he can still learn by watching videos: "Come, stand here, stand in this position in the penalty area" and slowly find the feeling. Moreover, because of his large size, the space he occupies is an advantage. Even if his sense of position is slightly poor, it can make up for it. I felt like his defensive positioning against the South Bay Lakers was less than ideal, and that was definitely a weakness.

Generally speaking, he performed well in low-level confrontations such as the Development League, but this was not enough to get him a chance to play in the NBA. I repeat, if the Trail Blazers are not going to make the playoffs, then it's okay to let him play, but I think despite the team's problems, they still have a clear path to the playoffs in the Western Conference. If the team is aiming for the playoffs, there is actually no need for Hexion to play; his appearance is not required.

If the Trail Blazers are a team that focuses on developing young players and is willing to give newcomers time to grow, I will definitely say "let him play and give him more opportunities", but if the team's goal is more than that, then it doesn't matter if Hexion doesn't play for the time being. And I think even if he is recalled from the Development League, it will be difficult to get playing time. He has indeed been recalled and will sit on the bench against the Suns before the team faces the Bulls.

I think Hexion still won't play because the team's lineup is complete; there is a high probability that Hexion will not play in the next game against the Bulls - although Lowe may miss back-to-back games, Hexion is not an NBA-level player yet, which leads to the team's lack of frontcourt strength.