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The NBA has taken to the official NBA Communications X account to announce that the LA Clippers have been sanctioned with a $25,000 fine. The reason? They failed to properly inform the league on the injury or availability status of several players for a specific game.
Per the NBA's post, the players in question are Paul George, Russell Westbrook and Norman Powell. The game wherein their team failed to properly report their status was on Apr. 14 against the Houston Rockets. It also happened to be their final game of the 2023-24 regular season.
PG, Russ and Powell all missed that game but were not included in the Clippers' injury report.
This announcement drew a variety of reactions from fans. With the news emerging right at the cusp of the playoffs, some X users tried to propose a solution that could affect the LA Clippers-Dallas Mavericks matchup.
"Suspend all the players involved for 4-7 games... Disgusting," tweeted one fan.
"Those cheaters shouldn't be able to play the playoffs," said @OwnedByLuka.
"KICK THOSE CHEATERS OUT OF THE PLAYOFFS," @Pisatchiosfan expressed emphatically through the use of all uppercase letters.
Some fans were more interested in the amount of the fine, implying that it was a minuscule amount.
"[Steve Ballmer] said 'here's a nickel,'" tweeted @LuckyLefty2323.
"That will be .0001% of his dividend check next month. The struggle is real," said @MyClippers.
Meanwhile, this fan wondered why a team is required to share this information with the league.
"Such a silly rule, why would any team have to give this info anyway."
Per the NBA's official rulebook posted on NBA.com, any player who is going to miss a game for whatever reason needs to be duly reported. A team must also provide information on what type of injury the player has. All this information needs to be given within a specific time before the scheduled game.
If a team is playing the second game of a back-to-back (second game in as many days), the report must be sent to the league by 1 p.m. on the day of the matchup. Otherwise, the health status of any player who could miss a game must be sent in by 5 p.m. the day prior to the matchup.
Also read: Clippers GM provides concerning Kawhi Leonard status update ahead of 2024 NBA playoffs tipoff
Kawhi Leonard and James Harden were also unavailable for the Clippers on Apr. 14
Aside from Paul George, Russell Westbrook and Norman Powell, two other players, Kawhi Leonard and James Harden, were unavailable for the LA Clippers during their season finale against the Houston Rockets last Sunday. However, the team was able to notify the league of their absence.
James Harden only played in one of the Clippers' last four games. That game was against the Utah Jazz on Apr. 12, where he only saw almost 10 minutes of action. He was reportedly dealing with a right foot inflammation.
Meanwhile, Kawhi Leonard missed eight straight games to close out the 2023-24 season. He is dealing with a right knee inflammation, and his status for his team's series opener against the Dallas Mavericks is questionable.
Guess the Bulls players in this quiz and it's not going to be easy!
