Normally the first preseason game never holds much importance to an 11-year NBA veteran. In fact, most well-established players do not take a preseason game seriously until the final dress rehearsal before the start of the regular season. But when the Houston Rockets opened their first of four preseason games inside the United Center, Friday’s contest against the Chicago Bulls was far from the norm.
Instead of coming into the game full of excitement surrounding several new key additions, the main storyline for the Rockets took place a total of 1,081.7 miles outside of Chicago with a disgruntled James Harden noticeably absent on the night.