On Nov. 12, the Cleveland Cavaliers were on the front end of a tough back-to-back, playing in Miami on Wednesday night then flying home to Cleveland to host Toronto on Thursday night. Cleveland chose to rest both Donovan Mitchell and Evan Mobley for the game in Miami, both were healthy scratches.
That cost the Cavaliers $100,000. The NBA announced the fine on Wednesday, saying it was “for violating the league’s Player Participation Policy.”
That policy states teams cannot rest two healthy star players — defined as having made an All-Star team in the past three years, which both Mobley and Mitchell have done — for the same game. If Cleveland had rested one player against the Heat on Wednesday and one against the Raptors on Thursday, that would have been allowed, but resting both on Wednesday violated the policy (which was created to reduce load management of stars in major games). The first fine for violating the policy is $100,000, a second violation would cost $250,000.
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The Cavaliers won the game where they were shorthanded, beating Miami 130-116. They fell to the Raptors at home the next night, in a game where Mitchell and Mobley combined for 38 points, 15 rebounds and nine assists.
