The Portland Trail Blazers dropped their final regularly-scheduled game in the 2024 NBA Summer League on Friday evening, falling to the Charlotte Hornets 84-68. There was a slim chance for both the Blazers and Hornets to make the “coveted” Summer League Playoffs, so it was interesting to see how each team came out to play.

Donovan Clingan, the 7th overall pick in this year’s draft, was determined to record his first double-digit scoring game this Summer. Starting off the game with back-to-back dunks went a long way to helping him achieve that goal.

The Blazer’s offense was painful to watch in the first quarter, really throughout the game. Turnovers, missed shots, and lack of flow was a common theme tonight. Scoring improved in the second quarter, but it took a little kid yelling, “Stop shooting threes!” from the stands to finally motivate the Blazers. The challenge from their impromptu coach led them to connect on their first long-distance shot after starting the game 0-16 beyond the arc.

Sadly, the trend of missing long-range shots would continue throughout the game. This would become the reason the Blazers fell behind 20+ points in the second half. They would finish 6-41 (14%) on threes.

The bright spot for the Blazers was Clingan. He anchored Portland’s defense. Not one of those small anchors in a fishing boat, I’m talking about those anchors used on shipping rigs. Cling Kong was amazing in the first half, recording 11 points, 9 rebounds, and 5 blocks. The record for blocks in a single Summer League game was 7. Clingan altered every shot around the rim and was able to chase down blocks he had no business contesting. You knew it was his night after he knocked down his second three. He finished the game 2-7 from deep.

Clingan kept the Blazers in the game, but Portland’s offense never got going. Rayan Rupert and Kris Murray disappeared for long stretches of the game. To be fair to them, they struggle to create their own shots and there isn’t a guard on the Summer League roster that can facilitate.

At the end of the day, Rupert, Murray, and Justin Minaya were able to get valuable playing time, but didn’t show much improvement.

The Blazers will play one final game on Sunday to wrap up their time in Las Vegas. Opponent and time remain to be determined.