Q: Ira, how does a team go through what Cleveland did at the end of overtime and then quit on the next game? What has become of the NBA? – Ralph.
A: The irony is that hours before the Cavaliers issued an injury report that said Donovan Mitchell and Evan Mobley would be given Wednesday night off at Kaseya Center for rest, Heat coach Erik Spoelstra spoke of expecting Cleveland’s best shot in the wake of the Heat’s last-second victory on Monday night. Yes, the Cavaliers are in the midst of a stretch of three games in four nights, with a Thursday night game against the Raptors. But Monday’s game for the Heat also concluded a stretch of three games in four nights. Yes, Tyler Herro and Bam Adebayo didn’t play in that one. But if they could have, they would have. The NBA has a problem with a schedule loaded up with too many games. I spoke to a Heat player about it and he related it to international soccer schedules being overstuffed as well, mocking FIBA’s attempt to make the club World Cup into something this past summer. The fact that Cleveland is white flagging it Wednesday night (at least in terms of roster availability) does not send a very good message about the league.
Q: Game 12 of the season and they already do this? How strange. – Jon.
A: How strange, indeed. And yet it’s also become accepted, as long as you provide advance notice. In this case, it’s clearly the Cavaliers protecting their home gate the next day. What the NBA has done is set up a schedule that prioritizes the NBA Cup and nationally televised games. Anything else . . . caveat emptor. But, hey, at least you get to see the Heat in new (old) Vice jerseys on Wednesday night on a spiffy neon Vice court. So there’s that.
Q: I think refs often don’t call five-second violations, not only this game. – Jack.
A: This was from the NBA postgame officiating report that said Cleveland’s Lonzo Ball should have been called for a decisive five-second violation late in Monday night’s overtime. And I agree that the benefit of the doubt is often given in such cases, making it more of a 5.9-seconds count.