Pacers win last two before All-Star break, then fined for tanking by NBA

Adam Silver and his reactionary leadership rose up to ding the Pacers $100,000 for not playing star players, suddenly moving the goal posts when dealing with a familiar situation.

For a moment, it appeared Kam Jones was in on the Pacers not sweating a loss to the Nets in their final game before the All-Star break. After rallying from behind in the second half, and taking a fourth-quarter lead, Jones had a pair of sloppy turnovers in the final minute, but the Nets were only able to cash in one of the donations to tie the game at 110-110.

Then Jones stepped up to make amends for the mistakes, after missing his prior 5 3PAs, the rook rose up with the confidence of a killer and drilled 3-ball with about 15 seconds remaining to give the Pacers the lead for good in a 115-110 win, delivering a borough sweep in NYC after beating the Knicks a night earlier.

Heading into the game, the Pacers were the talk of the tanking police with Siakam, Nembhard, Nesmith and McConnell all sitting for various ailments, along with Ivica Zubac who has been ruled out for an indefinite amount of time due to an ankle issue.

Many fans were upset that the Pacers pulled out the win, moving them to fourth in the inverse standings for the NBA lottery. But consider that the Pacers did about all they could to lose this game, considering once Jarace Walker found the range in the fourth quarter and was up to 23 points for the game, he exited for the final five minutes. Ethan Thompson had been playing lights out earlier in the game, but did not return after leaving very early in the fourth quarter. Quenton Jackson flashed, as well, playing 19 minutes off the bench and finishing a dunk in transition that would pull any human with a pulse out of their chair.

Normally, that type of play from the young guys extends their minutes. Instead, the Pacers closed the last five minutes with Jay Huff, Micah Potter at forward, newly acquired Kobe Brown, Taelon Peter and Kam Jones. Peter scored 8 of his 14 points in the fourth quarter and was a +22 for the game. Great to see the G-League experience boost his confidence to hunt plays offensively. No fan can fault that final rag tag lineup for taking advantage of their opportunity to deliver when they are all fighting to find solid footing in the league.

Also, the Nets were missing three of their better players, including Michael Porter Jr. and Nic Claxton, so the undermanned lineups were running on both sides. However, the Nets did put their better players, including Egor Demon and Nolan Traore, in for the final five minutes. But those two players are both 19 years old, so not quite there as killers down the stretch.

So, with the win, the Pacers finished the final 10 games before the break at 5-5 and have diminished their lottery odds a bit. Perfect time for the team to get fined by the NBA’s lackluster leader, Adam Silver. The league docked the Utah Jazz $500,000 for their recent tanking efforts to not play their best players in the fourth quarter. As for the Pacers, they reached back to Feb. 3 to fine the home team for resting Pascal Siakam on a back-to-back due to his status as a star player.

In addition, the Indiana Pacers have been fined $100,000 for violating the Player Participation Policy in connection with the team’s game against the Utah Jazz on Feb. 3. Following an investigation, including review by an independent physician, the NBA determined that Pascal Siakam, a star player under the Policy, and two other Pacers starters, neither of whom participated in the game, could have played under the medical standard in the Policy, including by playing reduced minutes. Alternatively, the team could have held the players out of other games in a way that would have better promoted compliance with the Policy.

“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,” said NBA Commissioner Adam Silver. “Additionally, we are working with our Competition Committee and Board of Governors to implement further measures to root out this type of conduct.”

Look, I’ve long found Silver to be a joke, based mainly on hiss continued teasing of the Seattle fan base that a return of the Sonics could be happening soon (he’s doing it, again!). So this just adds to my disdain of Silver’s NBA leadership, once again, fully reactionary to a national media narrative. A narrative that has been going on for year, mind you despite rules supposedly on the books.

So now two thirds of the way into a season, the league arbitrarily begins to enforce the resting rules and reaches back 10 days for the offending circumstance. Will the Pacers be fined in a week for the Nets game, even though they won?

The one year the Pacers decide to go all in on ‘development’ and they are suddenly the target of the NBA getting tough on tanking?

I’m all for the league figuring out a new way to handle the draft or rules regarding not tanking. The more draconian the better, as far as I’m concerned. But they can’t change anything this late in the game this season after turning a blind eye, not just this year but the past several years which has helped OKC and San Antonio in particular, abuse the lottery system.

As for the Pacers…what are they going to do the rest of the season? With the improved health and a group of absolute dogs, they have been the better team on the floor quite a bit over the past month or so. That said, even the most valiant effort to make a late run at a play-in spot would require around 20 wins with 24 games left to play.

They have certainly flashed a strong level of play without Tyrese Haliburton, so you know, no need to push it going forward. Maybe Siakam plays 5 minutes every quarter? Injuries are reported early and often? It would be nice to have Zubac back for a few games with the full squad, but that could be against the toughest opponents remaining on the schedule, a schedule that ranks 18th in strength standings.

Even if the Pacers finish in the bottom three (top?) there is slightly better than a coin flip chance they get to keep a top four pick, but at this point they have to give themselves a chance.

The Jazz have shut down Jaren Jackson Jr. for the season. The Kings shut down Zach LaVine for hand surgery. The race to the bottom is gonna be ugly and Adam Silver and his minions can only blame themselves for the current circumstances they’ve let fester for years, only to see it become an absolute joke this season with a high-profile draft class waiting in the wings.

All-Star Siakam

One of the highlights of this season is seeing Pascal Siakam repping the Pacers at NBA All-Star weekend in Los Angeles. Prior to the official events tipping off last night with the Celebrity and Rising Stars games, Siakam took in the Basketball Without Borders showcase, enjoying a full-circle moment by meeting a player from Cameroon.

Siakam is one of the great success stories of the BWB program after taking advantage of a BWB camp in Africa in 2012 that lead to opportunities to play in the United States where he continued to develop his game at New Mexico State before getting drafted by the Raptors. Siakam famously worked his way through the G-League before getting an opportunity with the Raps which he turned into being a key cog on a championship team and then a max player with the Pacers.

No overnight sensation and the work has never stopped as he continues to show the way for young players trying to find their way in the league.

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