The Sixers and Pelicans have each been fined for injury reporting violations, the NBA announced (via Twitter).
Philadelphia was fined $75K for failing to include MVP center Joel Embiid on the injury report “in an accurate and timely manner” prior to Saturday’s game in Denver, while the Pelicans were fined $25K for a similar infraction involving Trey Murphy on Saturday vs. Milwaukee.
According to the NBA, the 76ers’ harsher punishment “takes into account Philadelphia’s prior history of fines for violating injury reporting rules. The league review confirmed there was no violation of player participation policy because Embiid’s absence was due to a confirmed injury.”
Embiid has missed two of the past three games with left knee soreness and will be sidelined for Thursday’s contest in Utah. He’s set to undergo additional testing today.
As ESPN’s Bobby Marks tweets, half the money from the team fines will go to the NBA and half will go to the NBPA.
Dumb.
NBA putting procedures over substance. Let’s penalize the team b/c player thinks he can go, wants to play but then during warm-ups either reaggravates an injury or realizes everything isn’t OK. Absolutely ridiculous.
Except that didn’t happen. There was no reaggravation during warmups, hence there was no need to take things up to the last second with this status given the circumstances. It looks especially bad since he went on to miss Monday’s game. How can a player be ruled out at the very last second on Saturday, but then be ruled out well in advance of Monday absent a reaggravation? Everyone knew Embiid had suffered one the previous Thursday and didn’t look right, so the smoke and mirrors approach was never going to work.
Of course, the Sixers aren’t the only team who do this, which is the problem (or, rather, the league’s inconsistent application of the rule)
This. At the very least they should have made it absolutely clear he was a game-time decision. It looks worse after the injury against the Warriors, but it’s on the Sixers as an organization to do their job. That’s what the fine is for. Not Embiid being injured.
Embiid being injured is A) not his fault, and B) it sucks. But the Sixers have to follow procedure the same as every other team in the league.
Also, the league should do a better job of policing the rule, 100% true. But the Sixers did break it clearly. You can’t complain about them getting fined. *Other teams* not getting fined for the same violation, sure. But they earned it.
Oh no they can’t afford that… Whatever will they do… Will they have to sell the team? That’s just so much money…
Oh wait…
Seriously?? Anyone watching the game against GSW could tell he was injured and couldn’t move well. The NBA should be more concerned with the players health instead of a injury mandate.
You’re kind of proving the league’s point lol. If he was so clearly injured, shouldn’t he have been ruled out earlier?
*reported correctly earlier.
Let me translate this:
Philadelphia was fined $75K for failing to include MVP center Joel Embiid on the injury report “in an accurate and timely manner for all our gambling partners” prior to Saturday’s game in Denver.
Sixers got called out by the other team and the league took notice. Teams that cut corners can and will be fined when merited. Silly but true.
Not hard to follow this procedure. Suspect the player and coaches were caught emotionally trying to appease their own desires besides everything else required
It has nothing to do with the Nuggets and everything to do with Draft Kings and Fanduels.
So the Sixers should just list Embiid as a game time decision for the rest of his career?
For that matter shouldn’t every team in the league list every player on the roster as a game time decision?
The Belichick method