As they await the debut of the recently added James Harden, the Cleveland Cavaliers continue a five-game Western Conference road swing on Saturday when they visit the Sacramento Kings.
Cleveland traded for the eight-time All-NBA selection and former Most Valuable Player in a move announced on Wednesday, sending an injured Darius Garland and a second-round draft pick to the Los Angeles Clippers.
Garland was averaging 18 points and a team-best 6.9 assists per game at the time of his toe injury, last playing on Jan. 14. Harden, meanwhile, was a bright spot in an otherwise dim season for the Clippers with averages of 25.4 points, 4.8 rebounds and 8.1 assists per game.
Cleveland star Donovan Mitchell told The Athletic that Harden’s integration into the lineup will require “an adjustment” but that the 36-year-old veteran ultimately bolsters the Cavaliers’ postseason prospects.
“I’m excited about what he can do for me as a player, and I’m excited about what he can do for our team as a whole,” Mitchell said. “We want the same thing. We both want a championship.”
Harden was listed as questionable for Saturday as the Cavaliers worked to finalize the trade.
The Cavaliers are approaching next week’s All-Star break with positive momentum, heading into Sacramento having won seven of the past eight games.
Cleveland’s five-game winning streak ended in the opener of its current road trip, a 126-113 setback at Phoenix on Jan. 30. The Cavaliers rebounded with a 130-111 win in Portland on Sunday and then a 124-91 blowout of the Clippers on Wednesday following the Harden trade.
In Los Angeles, Mitchell finished with 29 points, nine assists and four steals, and Jarrett Allen recorded his 11th double-double of the season with 10 points and 11 rebounds.
Cleveland’s second-year breakout performer, Jaylon Tyson, extended a streak of consecutive games scoring in double figures to 13 when he put up 18 against the Clippers. Tyson’s recent surge includes a 39-point outburst in a Jan. 16 win at Philadelphia.
“Jaylon has been a revelation for us,” Cavaliers president of basketball operations Koby Altman said in a press conference this week. “Creating a pathway for him to be successful, minutes for him to be successful certainly went into that decision-making process, and we couldn’t be more excited about him.”
Tyson’s increased role in the offense should continue when Cleveland faces the league-worst Kings. Sacramento carries an 11-game losing streak into the second leg of a back-to-back after falling to the visiting Clippers 114-111 on Friday.
Malik Monk scored 18 points and Dylan Cardwell posted 14 points and 14 rebounds in the latest loss. Both came off the bench as four of Sacramento’s starters failed to score more than six points apiece.
Zach LaVine, who came in averaging 19.5 points on the season, finished with just six on Friday. LaVine’s 17 combined points over the last two contests totaled less than half of his output of 35 points on Sunday at Washington.
De’Andre Hunter, just dealt to Sacramento from Cleveland in a three-team trade that sent Keon Ellis and Dennis Schroder to the Cavaliers, scored six points on Friday in his second game with his new team. He shot just 1-for-8 from the floor and 0-for-5 from 3-point range.
The Kings played without Domantas Sabonis (lower back soreness) on Friday, continuing a season-long trend of roster instability plaguing the team.
“We endured — and it’s not an excuse, it’s a fact — a lot of injuries,” Sacramento general manager Scott Perry said on Friday. “I think we’re the only team in the league this year that never started its projected starting five going into the season. For example, Keegan Murray has missed 33 games this season. Sabonis has missed 33 games.”
