Split: Yang Hansheng's outside shooting + Lowry's offensive rebound; multiple absences led us to try a twin-tower strategy

On December 30th Beijing time, the NBA regular season continued, with the Trail Blazers edging out the Mavericks 125-122. Postgame, Trail Blazers coach Split discussed the twin-tower approach used in this contest. Lowry was on the court for 20 minutes, hitting 4 of 5 shots for 8 points, 8 rebounds, 2 assists, and 1 block, while Yang Hansheng played 10 minutes, shooting 0 for 2 overall and 0 for 1 from beyond the arc, recording no points or rebounds but 1 assist. The two shared playing time together.

Regarding the twin-tower experiment, Split said: “Based on past data, Lowry performing at the power forward and center positions together works well. We just wanted to see if this really benefits us. Additionally, with many forwards and guards out, we decided to test it out. We have Yang Hansheng, who can shoot from outside, and Lowry handles cutting and rebounding. Lowry is versatile and can switch onto smaller players, so we gave it a try. With so many players absent, we are exploring different options.”

Trail Blazers reporter Yovic also commented on the twin-tower usage during the game: “I think this game was significant because it was Split’s first time officially including Yang Hansheng in the regular rotation under non-emergency circumstances, including but not limited to pairing him with Lowry as twin towers. In other words, this was also Split’s first choice to play him when it wasn’t a last resort. This represents a new and higher-level challenge for Hansheng.”

However, Hansheng’s performance in this game was average; he missed both his shot attempts and ended the game scoreless for the fourth time this season.