LOS ANGELES — As All-Star Weekend arrives at Crypto.com Arena, the Clippers find themselves recalibrating after a busy trade deadline that sent James Harden to Cleveland for injured guard Darius Garland and shipped center Ivica Zubac to Indiana for Bennedict Mathurin.
The deal brings youth but subtracts two of the club’s steadiest pieces. Garland, 24, remains out indefinitely with a toe sprain, while Mathurin has begun his Clippers tenure coming off the bench. “It’s not easy, especially when you trade away big pieces,” veteran forward Nicolas Batum said. “But you still have to do your job.” Head coach Ty Lue added that the objective “is still to win at a high level” regardless of the revised roster.
Warriors monitor Porzingis
Golden State has yet to debut newly acquired big man Kristaps Porzingis because of Achilles tendinitis and a recent illness. Head coach Steve Kerr said the All-Star break should aid the recovery process. “Kristaps played today, was moving better than yesterday, and seemed in a good rhythm,” Kerr noted after a half-court, five-on-five workout, but he offered no target date for Porzingis’s return.
Kings tie franchise record for consecutive losses
Sacramento’s 121-93 defeat to Utah on Wednesday marked the team’s 14th straight loss, matching the longest skid in franchise history and the first such stretch since the club relocated to California in 1985. Interim coach Doug Christie, once a key player during the Kings’ peak years, called the downturn “painful” yet instructive. Second-year guard Devin Carter provided a rare highlight with a career-best 19 points.
Suns seek momentum after rough patch
Phoenix enters the break having dropped three of four, capped by a 136-109 loss at Oklahoma City. Despite falling to seventh in the Western Conference, head coach Jordan Ott framed the situation optimistically. “What we’re playing for the next 27 games—that’s exciting,” he said, noting the standings should serve as motivation for the stretch run.
Source: Hoops Rumors
