After playing in only 15 games before falling out of the Portland Trail Blazers’ rotation, rookie big man Caleb Swanigan is dominating the NBA G-League. He was assigned to the Canton Charge in December, upon recognition that he would benefit more from direct competition as Portland practices get fewer and further between. Through seven contests with the Charge so far, Swanigan has averaged 15.6 points and 13.1 rebounds per game.
Typically, the tradeoff for players doing a stint with the G-League is more repetitions but less veteran guidance—less value added behind the scenes, but Swanigan is in a unique situation, Joe Freeman of The Oregonian reports.