Last year, the NBA penalized the Utah Jazz for resting healthy players to lose games. This season, they are using a different strategy by not playing their stars in the fourth quarter.
For three consecutive games, the Jazz have kept Lauri Markkanen on the bench for the entire fourth quarter, aiming to limit their victories. This approach didn’t work during Monday’s 115-111 win against the Miami Heat, raising concerns as the team still has 28 games to play.
ESPN’s Bobby Marks criticized the Jazz for affecting league integrity
The NBA has rules against tanking, but they primarily apply to star players—those who have been named to an All-Star team or All-NBA team in the last three seasons. Markkanen qualifies as a star, as does Jaren Jackson, Jr., who was recently traded to the team.
Last season, sitting Markkanen led to a $100,000 fine for the Jazz. Following this, he returned from a supposed injury and played 28 minutes in the next game. The Jazz still ended up with the worst record in the league at 17-65, but their luck didn’t change in the draft lottery, resulting in the No. 5 pick.
On “NBA Today,” ESPN’s Bobby Marks mentioned that the Jazz’s strategy of resting stars late in games is “messing around with the integrity of the NBA.”