The Magic rallied to win by outscoring the Jazz, 33-23, in the final period with those players watching from the sideline. Utah coach Will Hardy did the same thing two nights later in Miami, but this time, the Jazz reserves rallied to beat the Heat.
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The Jazz have been rebuilding for years, making a number of trades to move veterans, add unwanted contracts from other teams, and load the roster with prospects. It appeared this season would be the first time in years the Jazz would compete for a playoff spot, but the season-ending injury to center Walker Kessler and a draft that could have as many as 10 franchise cornerstones encouraged Danny Ainge and crew to extend the rebuild for one more year.
With an emerging Keyonte George, Markkanen, Nurkic, and Jackson, the Jazz have too much talent to tank, but there we are. Jackson has been shut down with knee surgery that appears to be legitimate and Hardy has been accused of not only benching his players but not calling timeouts in critical stretches.
Tanking teams used to just bench players with questionable injuries to get the job done, but the Jazz revolutionized it with playing their star players and then benching them because they had a chance to impact victory.
“Overt behavior like this that prioritizes draft position over winning undermines the foundation of NBA competition and we will respond accordingly to any further actions that compromise the integrity of our games,” NBA commissioner Adam Silver said in a statement. “Additionally, we are working with our Competition Committee and Board of Governors to implement further measures to root out this type of conduct.”
The Pacers were accused of scratching six players in their Feb. 3 loss to the Jazz — the battle of the tankers — when some of them could have played. The Pacers even rested 23-year-old guard Bennedict Mathurin in the 131-122 loss. Indiana managed to best the Knicks in overtime on Tuesday despite not calling a timeout in the final minutes, including one that would have advanced the ball to midcourt when they were trying to protect the lead.
Tanking has existed in the NBA for generations. The 1996-97 Spurs shut down David Robinson with back surgery and then proceeded to lose as many games as possible to get a premium pick in the draft and they edged out the Celtics is the draft lottery to get Tim Duncan.
In the 30 years since, downtrodden franchises have used tanking to score premium draft picks, most of the time shutting down star players with injuries and using younger, unproven, and less talented prospects. But tanking has become more sophisticated and the league has to address the issue.
Not only is it a disservice to the game, but fans are paying exorbitant prices for tickets and it’s not as if the teams offer discounts when star players aren’t playing. The fans are the ones paying the price and the league fining the Jazz and Pacers $500,000 may appear to be a light financial penalty, but it could serve as a sign of major changes in how teams are awarded draft picks.
The NBA has attempted to even the draft lottery odds of the teams with the four worst records to prevent noncompetitive games in the final weeks of the season, but teams are already tanking before the All-Star Break.
The Pacers are preparing for what could be one of the biggest bounceback seasons in NBA history when they are completely healthy with Tyrese Haliburton, Ivica Zubac, Obi Toppin, and a lottery pick. But for the Jazz, it’s still uncertain when they will decide when to compete, and perhaps it taints the legacy of the great Ainge because the Jazz haven’t moved forward in his tenure.
Recent roster moves could signal the Celtics think Jayson Tatum will return this season.Danielle Parhizkaran/Globe Staff
WHAT SHOULD TATUM DO?
When asked about the impending decision of Jayson Tatum whether to return to the Celtics this season, NBC analyst and Naismith Memorial Hall of Famer Reggie Miller said he had that conversation with colleagues Carmelo Anthony and Jamal Crawford and they all agreed, if completely healthy, Tatum should return.
“I will say this, if you would have told me at the start of the season that the Celtics would be 5½ games out of first place,” Miller said. “I knew they would still have talent without Jayson. The way Jaylen Brown is playing, he’s playing at an MVP level, and should be highly discussed in that MVP frame with [Nikola] Jokic, and [Shai Gilgeous-Alexander], and Cade [Cunningham]. “But for them to be playing this well and coach [Joe] Mazzulla should get serious consideration for Coach of the Year and the way he has entrusted his bench, [Neemias] Queta, Jordan Walsh, these guys [Hugo] Gonzalez the rookie, so he’s opened up his bench, and he’s developing a strong bench in hopes and returns of Jayson Tatum.”
Tatum has had concerns about coming back at less than his peak and what impact his presence would have on his teammates and a chemistry already established. The all-time greats say Tatum’s return can only be a positive.
“To me, if you can add an all-NBA first-teamer and look, I don’t think he’s going to be playing major minutes if he came back,” Miller said. “But hearing like Damian Lillard participating in the 3-point competition, a guy who tore his Achilles in the playoffs last year as well, we’ve had a number of Boston Celtics games this year, some on the road, some in the Garden, and Tatum has been front and center. So coming in the Garden, and Tatum has been front and center, especially the ones on the road that I’ve seen him.
“And I’ve gone into the workout facility and seen him work out. He looks great. I personally would bring him back. To me, it’s all mental, I don’t think it would mess up chemistry. Adding an old NBA guy for 15, 20 minutes in the playoffs, I think it only helps.”
Anthony said the Celtics have to preserve the title windows of Brown and Tatum and making a run in the wide-open Eastern Conference with Tatum could accomplish that.
“My honest opinion is if he’s healthy enough to come back and play, then you play him, right?” Anthony said. “I say that because this is, this is about saving the championship window, right? And if we can do that, then let’s do it. We got to bring him back in limited minutes and let him get in game shape. He’s starting to get some reps. He looks stronger, he looks a lot more physical. He looks healthy. Mentally, he looks like he’s getting ready. So if you have one of the best players in this league that’s ready to come back and putting in the work and making sure that he dots all those Is and crosses his Ts, then why not bring him back? The team is already rolling. Jaylen Brown is leading those guys having an MVP-caliber season this year so Jayson could come back and play a couple games and get implemented, and get his wind back and get his timing back. I don’t see how this disturbs the Celtics.”
Miller said the Celtics don’t trade Anfernee Simons for Nikola Vucevic without having a potential Tatum return in mind.
“The Celtics don’t make that Vucevic move without thinking about the big picture,” he said. “Because adding Vucevic really opens up their team, because he’s a pick-and-pop center, and it’s a different dynamic than having Queta in there, who’s been great, who’s a great screen and roller, good hands around the basket. But the way the Celtics won a championship and been successful over the last three or four years has been taking 50 threes and playing five guys out. When you have Nikola on the floor that allows you to do that with Tatum. So I think that move there kind of signals to me that they’re anticipating Tatum coming back.”
James Harden was dealt to the Cavaliers after the Clippers wouldn’t give him a contract extension.Sue Ogrocki/Associated Press
ETC.
The Clippers have endured a tumultuous season, beginning with the Kawhi Leonard situation where the franchise has been accused of circumventing the salary cap by helping him sign an endorsement contract with a fleeting company that eventually folded. Then the injury-riddled club began 6-21, and the jettisoned Chris Paul off the roster.Paul announced his retirement Friday. They have been a resurgent club the past few months, almost guaranteeing themselves a play-in spot, but when James Harden’s plea for a two-year extension was denied, he asked out.
The Clippers, realizing they had no chance to get out of the Western Conference, even with a healthy roster, sent Harden to the Cavaliers for injured guard Darius Garland, who is 10 years younger and has a bigger long-term upside. Los Angeles then dealt productive center Ivica Zubac, a onetime Celtics target, to the Pacers for two first-round picks.
The rebuild is happening in Los Angeles, right at the feet of Leonard, who is playing his best basketball since becoming a Clipper. It’s an awkward time at Intuit Dome, because the franchise is stuck between now and the future. But the Clippers will move on.
“Obviously, it’s tough, you lose one of your guys in the locker room, especially one of your best players,” Clippers coach Tyronn Lue said. “ I just told our guys we’re going to be okay, it’s going to be fine. You know, and when James [Harden] gone, we got to play a different style of basketball, and our younger guys, they got to understand that. They know how to do it, they should never be holding a basketball. They also begin the next action, create action. The only one guy that should be holding the ball is Kawhi [Leonard], you know? So, just understanding we got to play a different style of basketball, a different way. It’s going to take a little time, but we’ll get there.”
Harden wanted to be traded to a contender and the Clippers had no interest in paying him $80 million over the next two seasons when the franchise could be in transition. It was the right move at the right time, although any midseason move of a major player is difficult.
”I wasn’t expecting it,” Derrick Jones Jr. said. “I don’t think anybody was. But we can’t dwell on it. But we have to have that next man up mentality. Once [Garland] gets back and gets healthy we’re going to get the chemistry out there and everything is going to be good.”
Darius Garland will give the Clippers a younger backcourt when he’s healthy.Mark J. Terrill/Associated Press
Leonard has one more year on his contract at $50 million. The Clippers could dangle him for trade this summer or keep him and perhaps agree to a longer-term extension at value. Leonard turns 35 in June and his body has taken a beating with a myriad of injuries but he also appears to have a lot of basketball left. Perhaps those games missed have preserved his body. He dropped the winning bucket in the Clippers’ win at Houston Wednesday and appears pleased with the current situation.
“I could just say what he brings to the table, what he has been doing in the league, obviously, a multiple All-Star, very talented guard, 26, probably still got a bright side to him,” Leonard said of Garland. “I don’t think we’ve seen the best of him yet. But pace, a guy who knows how to pass the ball, to shoot threes, he’s got an amazing touch. A competitor, and I think that’s what he is going to bring to our table.”
Leonard said he was not aware of Harden’s trade demand but said he’s focused on this reshaped roster.
“You know, it was shocking, but this is the NBA, you know, it’s business. And that’s what comes first,” Leonard said. “[Harden” was a great teammate, we spent time together, had great memories, and I wish him best of luck with him and his career. We are still locked in, and I respect him.”
The NBA got a surprise entry into the free agent market when the Spurs released former lottery pick Jeremy Sochan, who played very little this season and became lost in a youth movement as the club emerges as the primary contender to the Thunder in the Western Conference. He was quickly signed by the Knicks. Sochan started for most of his first two NBA seasons, even some at point guard, and appeared to be part of the team’s future. But the Spurs have loaded up on draft talent the past few years, taking the likes of Stephon Castle, Victor Wembanyama, Dylan Harper, and Carter Bryant, along with signing Luke Kornet. Sochan’s playing time decreased dramatically this season and he never improved his ability to shoot from the perimeter … Just when it appeared the Knicks were unquestionably the second-best team in the Eastern Conference after a 22-point win over the Celtics last Sunday, they come back and lose to the tanking Pacers at home two nights later. The Pacers just seem to play well against the Knicks while the Knicks continue their up-and-down play despite having as much talent as any team in the East. Karl-Anthony Towns fouled out of the Indiana game and continues to frustrate Knicks fans by arguing nearly every call. But he did hit two clutch free throws with 0.2 seconds left to send the game into overtime … After being waived before the trade deadline, Arlington native Pat Connaughton returned to the Hornets on a one-year deal as the club waived former first-round pick Malaki Branham. Connaughton played sparingly with the Hornets but was considered a reliable veteran mentor … LeBron James won’t be eligible for an All-NBA team for the first time in his amazing career, having sat out his 18th game of the season, a loss to the Spurs, meaning he will not reach the 65-game minimum. James missed the first month of the season with sciatica and has been rested for various games because of his age (41). James is expected to play in Sunday’s All-Star Game in Los Angeles, where he was chosen as a reserve by the league’s coaches. There are several standout players, such as Stephen Curry, who are approaching that 17-games-missed plateau.
The Patriots lose Super Bowl LX to the Seahawks in a beatdown by the Bay. Boston Globe Sports Report is live from San Francisco to break everything down.
Gary Washburn is a Globe columnist. He can be reached at gary.washburn@globe.com. Follow him @GwashburnGlobe.