Now it starts. It is NBA All-Star weekend as I write this, and some inferior teams have their focus on losing enough games to "earn" a high lottery pick . Danny Ainge , never one to previously tank as Head Honcho of the Boston Celtics, and his Utah Jazz took a half-million-dollar hit for failing to play his stars in the final period of two close games. Unnecessarily resting star players has been a major issue in the League this season, and Adam Silver has decided to make teams pay for such a practice. Silver stated that such behavior "undermines the foundation of NBA compeition" . That may be so, but what may eventually be undermined might be the popularity of the League itself - and the massive amount of money it acquires. The blatent "losing to gain a high draft position" needs to stop , but large fines are hardly felt by the offending teams. Resting star players to avoid injuries is one thing, but benching them after overstating the seriousness ...
Celtics sophomore, Baylor Scheierman , seems to be getting a lot of attention from his coach, Joe Mazzulla . In last night's win over the Chicago Bulls , Scheierman started his 8th contest of the season and contributed 10 points, five boards, one assist and one steal. The 6'6" shooting guard hit 2-of-7 from the fieeld and 2-of-5 from deep . Baylor is averaging 45% on field goals for the season and 39% on threes . He has started 4-of-the-last five games - four of them wins. His floor time contunes to rise. Scheierman's 4-year contract at an average of $3.2 million per year is fully guaranteed through the 2028 season - with team options for 2026-27 (already exercised by Celtics) and 2027-28. He looks to be a "keeper" for Brad Stevens.