The Dallas Mavericks $750,000 Fine Should Silence Miami Heat Fans Who Wanted Them To Tank

The Miami Heat are fighting for their playoff lives tonight against the Chicago Bulls.

The alternative could have been what happened to the Dallas Mavericks. On Friday, the league fined them $750,000 for violating the NBA's resting policy. Some would say the Mavericks were tanking by sitting several key players in a playoff elimination game against the Bulls.

Many Heat fans have called for them to take same approach in an attempt to rebuild. Instead, the Heat have one more chance to make the postseason ... and the organization is $750,000 richer.

Here's the statement from the league:

"The NBA announced today that the Dallas Mavericks organization has been fined $750,000 for conduct detrimental to the league in an elimination game against the Chicago Bulls on April 7.

The Mavericks violated the league’s player resting policy and demonstrated through actions and public statements the organization’s desire to lose the game in order to improve the chances of keeping its first-round pick in the 2023 NBA Draft. The league did not find that the players who participated in the game were not playing to win.

“The Dallas Mavericks’ decision to restrict key players from fully participating in an elimination game last Friday against Chicago undermined the integrity of our sport,” said Joe Dumars, NBA Executive Vice President, Head of Basketball Operations. “The Mavericks’ actions failed our fans and our league.”

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Shandel Richardson covers the Miami Heat for Inside The Heat.

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