"The Jazz's efforts were far more obvious, resting Jaren Jackson Jr., Lauri Markkanen and Jusuf Nurkic in the fourth quarter in an effort to lose and help maintain premium draft lottery odds as the offseason nears. That measure occurred in two games. Though one of them wasn't actually a loss. They won - 115-111 - against the Miami Heat."
""The Utah Jazz organization has been fined $500,000 for conduct detrimental to the league related to the team's games against the Orlando Magic on Feb. 7 and the Miami Heat on Feb. 9," the league wrote in a press release. "During those games, the Jazz removed two of the team's top players, Lauri Markkanen and Jaren Jackson, Jr., before the beginning of the fourth quarter and did not return them to the game, even though these players were otherwise able to continue to play and the outcomes of the games were thereafter in doubt.""
"Miami's loss to Utah came on the second night of a back-to-back; the Heat crushed the Washington Wizards, 132-101, the day prior. That didn't make their loss any less embarrassing, either. The whole world knows the Jazz's intentions, though reading the league's press release where it says " the Miami Heat on Feb. 9 " in fine print makes it sting that much more. It's also a direct indication of where the Heat are as a franchise; they can beat, and lose to, pretty much any team on any given night, the ultimate sign of mediocrity."
Two NBA teams were fined for player participation decisions tied to apparent tanking. The Utah Jazz received a $500,000 fine for removing key players before fourth quarters in games against Orlando and Miami. The Indiana Pacers received a $100,000 fine for related actions. One of the Jazz's targeted games resulted in a 115-111 win over the Miami Heat despite resting top players. The Heat entered the All-Star break at 29-27 and lacked clear direction. The situation intensifies calls for meaningful league action to protect competitive integrity.
Read at Hot Hot Hoops - Miami HEAT NBA Blog
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]