Cavs fined second time for participation penalty after Darius Garland held out

The Cavaliers picked up their second player participation violation of the season on Thursday, which is not where you want to be just 23 games in.

The league reviewed Cleveland’s decision to sit Darius Garland for a nationally televised game against the Raptors, one night after he played, and ruled that he should have been available.

That determination triggered the fine and put the Cavs right back under league scrutiny.

The NBA’s rules are simple. If a team rests a star without an approved medical reason, the fines escalate fast. The first violation carries a $100,000 penalty. The second jumps to $250,000.

Every violation after that rises by a full $1 million than the one before it. A third would cost $1.25 million. A fourth would cost $2.50 million. So there is no soft landing.

Cleveland was already hit once last month. Now the Cavs have been flagged again, with the league signaling it will not overlook situations where a healthy star sits in a national window.

The team has been managing injuries and uneven availability across the roster. But if a star is out, the reason needs to be legitimate and documented, the league says.

For the Cavs, this is two violations before Christmas. All other 29 times have one combined.