Full disclosure: I am writing this game preview at 7pm local time on Wednesday night. The trade deadline is in 19 hours. Things can change, but if I’m talking about James Harden and you’re thinking, “AK, the Rockets traded Harden to the Monstars for Pound,” this explains why I am not mentioning it.
Actually, I like that the trade deadline occurs before anyone plays a game post-All-Star Break. This removes the dynamic of sitting players and having Twitter explode with “Oh MDA took out Bev at the 4 minute mark of the first quarter.