The NBA is cracking down on injury reporting violations, making an example out of teams that rest all their starters (at the expense of paying fans) or mislead opponents with false information. A day after docking the Nets $25,000 for sitting almost all their regulars (Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving and Ben Simmons among them) against Indiana, the Heat were fined the same amount for “failing to disclose an accurate game availability status for several players” Wednesday at Oklahoma City. Specifically, Tyler Herro, Max Strus, Duncan Robinson, Victor Oladipo and Dewayne Dedmon were all available to play, though Miami’s injury report didn’t reflect that, with each player either designated as “questionable” or “probable.”
Though $25,000 is, admittedly, little more than a slap on the wrist (Miami’s top scorer, Jimmy Butler, makes roughly $460,000 per game, which computes to a little over $9,000 per minute), the Heat clearly took offense to being singled out, responding by listing their entire roster on their latest injury report.
If you’re keeping a tally, that’s seven players listed as probable, six as questionable and three ruled out. Is it disrespectful, bordering on childish, for the Heat to include 16 players (including one currently assigned to their G League team in Sioux Falls) on their injury report? Sure. But it’s also pretty brilliant, a breathtaking display of pettiness that even comedian Larry David (who got his PHD in confrontation) would have to admire. Of course, commissioner Adam Silver probably wasn’t amused, with the Heat not only flouting a league rule (albeit one that’s rarely enforced) but reveling in it, raising a defiant middle finger for all to see.
Clearly, the troll is strong in Pat Riley, who, if he really had some stones, would pay off his debt in pennies. We’ll see how many Heat players are available Saturday against the Spurs with tipoff scheduled for 5 PM ET in Mexico City.
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