Magic vs. Clippers Tuesday NBA injury report, odds: Los Angeles short-handed following James Harden trade; star guard not ready to debut
Our long national nightmare is over. James Harden finally weaseled his way out of yet another franchise. The star guard got exactly what he wanted in the end by essentially quitting on the 76ers: A trade to the Los Angeles Clippers, who will be very short-handed Tuesday night against the visiting Orlando Magic due to the players given up in the Harden deal and some injuries. L.A, is a 6.5-point favorite on the SportsLine consensus. Harden is not available for his new team. The SportsLine Projection Model has actually downgraded the Clippers' outlook after the trade.
The 76ers sent the 10-time All-Star and former MVP Harden, P.J. Tucker and Filip Petrusev to the Clippers for Marcus Morris, Robert Covington, Nic Batum, Kenyon Martin Jr., a 2028 unprotected first-round pick, two second-round picks, a 2029 pick swap and an additional first-round pick from the Oklahoma City Thunder. The Clippers and Sixers had been discussing a Harden trade since July, and the deal finally came to fruition early Tuesday.
It's the fourth time Harden, who hasn't played yet this season, has been traded in his career, tied for the most by any former MVP in NBA history along with Moses Malone, Bob McAdoo and Harden's new teammate Russell Westbrook. They will be teammates for a third time after previous stints with the Thunder and Rockets. Both future Hall of Famers are approaching 25,000 career points -- Harden has 24,693 (25th all-time) and Westbrook has 24,491 (27th).
Last season, Harden led the league with 10.7 assists per game, becoming the first player in history with three scoring titles and two assist titles. But The Beard scored just 21.0 points, his lowest rate the since 2011-12 campaign with Oklahoma City, and missed 24 games due to injury.
Harden also has the second-most career points in NBA postseason history without a title, behind former Jazz legend Karl Malone. Harden has a history of playoff failures, which is one reason why the Sportsline Model has downgraded the Clippers' odds to win an NBA title by 0.9% following this deal. When Harden played at least 10 minutes in his career with the Sixers, they had a plus-3 point differential. But when he did not play, Philadelphia was a markedly better plus-6 per game.
BetMGM has dropped the Clippers from +2200 to win their first NBA title to +1300 in the wake of the deal. The Clippers have never advanced to the NBA Finals and have only made the Western Conference Finals once (2020-21 season). Los Angeles has not had both Kawhi Leonard and Paul George available at the end of the season since 2020 due to injury.Â
Tucker is a nice addition for L.A. as well -- he's an excellent defender who can hit open 3-pointers. Tucker has often drawn important defensive assignments in postseason play.
In addition to the players the Clippers traded, they are listing Terance Mann as out (the Sixers had reportedly been demanding him as part of a return for Harden) and Norman Powell and Ivica Zubac as questionable. George and Leonard are set to play in the front end of a back-to-back, which never used to be a sure thing.
| 76ERS | WINSÂ Â Â | WIN%Â Â Â | PLAYOFFÂ Â | CONFÂ Â Â | CHAMP |
| w/ James Harden | 50.4 | 61.50% | 99.10% | 12.00% | 4.10% |
| After Trade | 49.9 | 60.90% | 98.80% | 11.50% | 3.90% |
| Difference | -0.5 | -0.60% | -0.30% | -0.50% | -0.20% |
| Â | Â | Â | Â | Â | Â |
| CLIPPERS | WINS | WIN% | PLAYOFF | CONF | CHAMP |
| Before Trade | 46.7 | 57.00% | 74.70% | 5.70% | 2.60% |
| w/ James Harden | 46 | 56.10% | 68.50% | 4.10% | 1.70% |
| Difference | -0.7 | -0.90% | -6.20% | -1.60% | -0.90% |
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