標籤: defiant

Chelsea defender Mamadou Sarr has insisted he has no regrets about joining the club or leaving Strasbourg in January to do so.

Sarr is speaking to De Sports This week about the switch. He insists he is happy with his move to Stamford Bridge.

starter for bench

turned 20 years old Latest player to swap Strasbourg for Chelsea When he made the move at the end of the January transfer window.

He was on loan at the French club after joining Chelsea in a €14m deal from their sister club in June last year.

He was a key player under Liam Rosenior and Gary O’Neill and was part of Chelsea’s long-term plans. But the decision was soon taken to move him back to Stamford Bridge amid a defensive crisis at the club.

This meant swapping guaranteed minutes in France for a backup role at Chelsea. To date, he has started one Premier League game and spent five on the bench as an unused substitute. However, he is not worried about it.

“I don’t regret leaving Strasbourg, because I have reached a big club where to play you have to earn your place,” He said.

chelsea struggles

The defender’s lack of concern comes despite Chelsea being in the midst of a disappointing run of form under Rosenière.

Saturday’s 3-0 defeat to Everton was their fourth consecutive defeat in all competitions, which also included an 8-2 defeat to Paris Saint-Germain over two legs in the Champions League. They have also failed to score in their last three matches while they have conceded 12 goals in their last four matches.

After a strong start under Rosenior in January, the Blues have struggled recently, and the pressure on the former Strasbourg coach is increasing.

Dissatisfaction is growing among fans, and Sarr feels the international break may have come at the right time.

“I think the break will benefit us, and we will clear our minds when we resume training,he adds.

“Every footballer goes through such moments (against PSG). The important thing is to pick yourself up and carry on.”

Doubt about the future

The question is whether Chelsea can pick themselves out for the remainder of the season. The FA Cup clash with Port Vale after the international break provides some respite, at least on paper.

But with matches against Manchester City, Manchester United and Liverpool coming up, the race for a Champions League spot is not going to be easy.

🇵🇹 Exclusive: Maxi Araújo

⏩Tottenham and Chelsea are in contact
➡️ Source gave information @UllalIBT
➡️There is also further Premier League interesthttps://t.co/K17lRpjlUG #thfc #cfc

– Sports Witness (@Sport_Witness) 22 March 2026

The Chicago Bulls have fallen short in the postseason picture, and they are set to miss the play-in tournament for the first time in the last four seasons. It’s clear that Chicago is paying more attention to its youth, and in return, Matas Bouzelis is getting the opportunity of a lifetime. On Monday night, Bouzelis played a key role in the Bulls’ 132–124 upset win over the Rockets, scoring 23 points on an efficient 8-16 shooting night.

Considering how much the Bulls have struggled since the trade deadline, they need every ray of hope that there is indeed some light at the end of the tunnel as far as their rebuild is concerned. And games like this one from Buzzellis that’s all it givesEspecially when he made some clutch plays in their most recent win.

Bouzelis told CHSN’s Casey Johnson, “I’m trying to be aggressive all the time. I don’t care who’s in front of me. I’ll take the challenge.”

It must have been very inspiring for Bouzelis to do well for himself, given that he himself admitted that Rockets star Kevin Durant, who had 40 points on the night, was “eating” him.

“He was kicking my butt, man. It was tough. Obviously, he’s an amazing player. I’m really happy we came out with the win. He was cooking me,” Bouzelis admitted.

“I’m trying to be aggressive all the time. I don’t care who’s in front of me.”

with Matas Buzzelis @KCJHope After a 23-point performance in the win over Houston. pic.twitter.com/7TnwhU39k4

– Bulls on CHSN (@CHSN_Bulls) 24 March 2026

The Bulls still have a long way to go in their rebuild, but to say they don’t have some promising pieces would be disingenuous. Bouzelis has the size to be a prototypically dominant two-way wing, and Josh Giddy is a stat-sheet stuffer extraordinaire.

Bouzelis is also only 21 years old, so the sky is the limit for a second year ahead. Watching Durant up close and personal has certainly taught the young Bulls player some tricks that he can incorporate into his game moving forward.

The Golden State Warriors are going through a tough phase at the moment and have lost three of their last four matches. However, they have also come up against some top teams, with the Houston Rockets, Los Angeles Lakers, Los Angeles Clippers, and most recently the Oklahoma City Thunder all testing Golden State.

To make things even worse, a plethora of injuries have left the Warriors that is Draymond Green having to lead the defense against some of the best players in the league. And well, the 36-year-old Warriors veteran considers it a ‘badge of honour’.

“I’m a very arrogant person. I can’t go out there and commit murder.”

Draymond Green on accepting the challenge of guarding Kawhi Leonard, Kevin Durant and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander in consecutive games at the age of 36. pic.twitter.com/OWov1JaSRg

-Joseph Dycus (@joseph_dycus) 8 March 2026

“Think our coaching staff realizes that I have a lot of energy when I get stuff like that. Because, like I said, if coach calls on me to guard Kawhi, to guard KD, to guard Shea, that’s a badge of honor. I mean, I’m 36 years old, three games in a row, that’s a badge of honor,” Drummond said in a post on X by Warriors reporter Joseph Dykes. Explained accordingly.

Green said it was ‘amazing’ to be tasked by Steve Kerr with protecting these players at this point in his career, and it energized him greatly. This is also evident from the fact that the four-time champion leaves everything behind whenever he is on the court.

Against the Thunder, he was not only the defensive lynchpin, but also the Warriors’ third-highest scorer with 16 points.

“And so, then I have to take that responsibility and make sure we don’t have to help each other. And yet, I’m a very proud person. I can’t go out there and commit murder. That’s what happens when you’re playing against great players like that. But, at the same time, for me, I just can’t lay down. I can’t go out there and feel like it’s easy,” Green said.

And while there have been critics who have questioned his over-the-top playing style, Green’s commitment is unmatched, and perhaps the biggest reason why he has been a consistent winner with the Warriors for over a decade.

Nine years into his NBA career, Bam Adebayo’s defensive impact remains undeniable. The Miami Heat star’s defensive abilities were on full display during Tuesday’s blowout win over the Brooklyn Nets.

Adebayo equaled his career high with six steals and added a block as Miami held Brooklyn to 98 points on 33-of-86 (38.4 percent) shooting. After the performance, the 28-year-old was asked if being left off last year’s All-Defense team served as motivation this season.

“I think people get tired of seeing continuity. It gets boring when you see someone do it over and over again,” Adebayo replied. “But at the same time, as I’ve grown up in this league, the norms have changed. You have guys who are making it who aren’t making the playoffs; they’re at the bottom of the league in record. You’re seeing some crazy things now. I don’t know if it’s just voter fatigue, but I’m always going to be first-team All-Defense. That’ll never change. It doesn’t matter what the voters say. My teammates know that. I can have moments like that. Where I can steal six times, where I have the most plus-minus, that side will never change.

Adebayo was selected Second Team All-Defense for three consecutive years from 2020 to 2023 before receiving his first first-team selection in 2024. After being left out of last year’s team, he anchored a Miami defense that ranks fourth in the NBA this season.

Bam Adebayo sets the record straight on his place in the NBA’s defensive hierarchy

The Heat have posted a 110.65 defensive rating during Adebayo’s minutes. According to CleaningTheGlass, he allows 4.8 fewer points per 100 possessions on the court versus off, the sixth-largest defensive rating swing among Big 20 players who have played more than 1,500 minutes.

“He creates an atmosphere,” Erik Spoelstra said of Adebayo’s impact. “In that first quarter [against the Nets]I think he had four steals, and then he had a couple blocks. In the first half, our defense really came out strong. And those are two really good defensive plays, back to back. Our defense has been good all year, but we really need to step up to a higher level to finish out this regular season.

The Heat are struggling to avoid falling in the Eastern Conference Play-in Tournament for the fourth consecutive season. Miami, the Philadelphia 76ers and Orlando Magic are separated by half a game for the East’s sixth to eighth seeds.

The Los Angeles Lakers finally find themselves in another tough game, this time against the Phoenix Suns. They lost their matchup earlier in the week against the Orlando Magic after a poor final game between Luka Doncic and LeBron James. Against the Suns, they had a chance to win again with the final possession, but Austin Reaves was not able to capitalize.

The Lakers have now lost five of their last seven games, and they are trying to get back on track during the second half of the season. After the game, Doncic explained what the team needs to do to get back in the win column.

“Just go game-by-game, try to win every game. Obviously, we didn’t start well [out of the All-Star break]But nothing is finished. “We just have to have the mentality of trying to win every game,” Doncic said.

“Just go game-by-game, try to win every game. Obviously we didn’t start well [out of the All-Star break]But nothing is finished. We just have to have the mentality to try to win every game” – Luka Doncic on what the Lakers, who have lost 5 of 7, need to do to get on track pic.twitter.com/Bjbd9nJutO

-Dave McMenamin (@mcten) 27 February 2026

Head coach JJ Redick offered another perspective on the recent loss, and he knows the spotlight is weighing heavily on them, just because of who they are.

“Our losses stand out more than other teams. Because we’re the Lakers — and that’s how we lose,” Redick said, via Benjamin Royer of The Orange County Register.

The Lakers have also been healthy this stretch, which perhaps makes things more disappointing for them. The last two losses are nothing to be too concerned about as they have come down to final possession, but they are games they definitely want to win.

The Lakers are now 34-24 and in sixth place in the Western Conference standings, and there is a possibility they could fall in the play-ins. There is still enough time in the season for them to work hard and register some wins so that they can secure a comfortable place in the top six.