It is the time of year when every injury report causes eyebrows to raise.
D’Angelo Russell, not in Golden State’s lineup at Washington on Monday?
Hmmm.
Error 0:
Tristan Thompson, scratched by the Cleveland Cavaliers for their game against New York the same night?
Interesting.
That’s because it’s the week of the NBA trade deadline, when teams need to be careful with the health of players they might be trying to deal.
The deadline is Thursday at 1 p.m. MT. It arrives quickly now, once the NBA moved it from its longtime spot on the calendar after the All-Star break to its current one the week before.