On the morning of October 11 (Beijing time), the Portland Trail Blazers faced off against the Sacramento Kings in their latest NBA preseason matchup, with rookie center Yang Hanshen once again starting from the bench.
With the regular season just two weeks away, the No.16 overall pick in this year’s draft is still in the crucial phase of adapting to the NBA’s pace and intensity — and the preseason offers him a valuable stage to do just that.
In his previous game, the Blazers suffered a tough 123–129 loss to the Golden State Warriors despite once leading by as many as 19 points. Yang came off the bench for 21 minutes, contributing 4 points, 4 rebounds, and 1 assist, but also committing 4 turnovers and fouling out with 6 personal fouls. Compared with his Summer League averages of 10.8 points, 5 rebounds, 3.8 assists, and 2.3 blocks, the performance gap was obvious — highlighting issues with rhythm, positioning, speed, and physicality.
To earn consistent minutes in the upcoming regular season, Yang needs strong showings in these preseason games. For this matchup, the Blazers made lineup adjustments: Avdija, Kamara, Clingan, Sharpe, and Holiday started, with Avdija replacing Grant. Yang remained on the bench at tip-off.
Portland had a slow start, trailing 10–16, before Yang checked in with 7:41 remaining in the first quarter. His first defensive possession saw him fouling Domantas Sabonis, nearly allowing an and-one. Moments later, he was called for an offensive screen foul — two quick fouls in under two minutes.
With 4:13 left in the quarter, Yang drew a foul from Sabonis while battling for position and calmly sank both free throws to tie the game at 22–22. However, just a minute later, he picked up his third foul trying to contest a Eubanks layup. Having accumulated three fouls in just four minutes, Yang was subbed out.
Those early fouls limited his court time and underscored the challenges of adapting to NBA-level officiating, tempo, and physical demands.
Despite the rough start, the Blazers regrouped and closed the first quarter strong, erasing the deficit to lead the Kings 37–31 heading into the second period.
