The Washington Wizards entered Thursday night's battle against the LA Clippers riding an 11-game losing streak.
Washington stayed on the West Coast to take on the Clippers after a loss to the Lakers the game prior. Ty Lue's team was on the second night of a back-to-back, but the Wizards managed to get the worst end of the stick as the Clippers' rested their starters the night prior. Against a fully healthy contender, it's evident what the result of this matchup was.
As expected, the Clippers steamrolled the Wizards on their home floor with a 110-93 final score.
Nonetheless, here's the top three takeaways from Washington's 37th loss of the season.
Alex Sarr records his sixth double-double of the season
Alex Sarr has continued to show improvement as the Wizards long season continues. The team's top rookie has slowly seemed to put everything together and on a nightly basis you can see his confidence level and comfort on the court increasing.
In Thursday's loss to the Clippers, the French product totaled 14 points, 10 rebounds and two assists. In his sixth double-double of the season, Sarr has shown why the Wizards brass is high on the versatile forward's potential.
Jonas Valanciunas plays for less than 20 minutes again
Jonas Valanciunas is averaging 19.7 minutes per game on the season up to this point, but in large part due to the big man's lack of usage on the court. In the Wizards last 8 games, the 32-year-old has only recorded 20+ minutes in one game. Every other matchup, Valanciunas has found himself forfeting minutes to Washington's young core.
Although this simply could be designed to continue to allow the team's young players continue to get play time and further their development, it's also worth noting that the NBA trade deadline is now less than two weeks away.
The Wizards could be limited Valanciunas time on the court as they continue to field incoming calls from contending teams interested in the veteran.
Jordan Poole's inefficiency continues despite team-high points
Jordan Poole finished with a team-high 24 points last night, but the inefficient shooting to get there was tough to watch. The Michigan product ended the night shooting 31.6% from field goal range (6/19 FG) and 33.3% from beyond the arc (4/12 3PT).
Despite the poor shooting from the field, Poole did manage to stay aggressive earning 8 free throws in the loss. However, if the guard could find a way to improve his efficiency on the court, he has all the tools to be a game changer for the Wizards or whatever team he lands with next assuming he's not apart of the Wizards longterm future.