The NBA has just slapped the Toronto Raptors with a hefty fine amounting to $25,000 for what has been deemed as a “misinterpretation” of the injuries involving two of their players. According to reports, the Raptors will need to pay up after opting to rest two of their starters in Kyle Lowry and OG Anunoby during Friday's tilt against the Orlando Magic.

Here is the official statement of the NBA on this matter (h/t Alex Kennedy of BasketBallNews.com):

Team insider Doug Smith revealed that it was Lowry and Anunoby that were involved in the fine:

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Lowry has been out of action for the Raptors for the past three games, with all of them being tagged as “rest.” Anunoby missed Friday's game against the Magic also for “rest” purposes.

Clearly, the league was unhappy with how the Raptors decided to rest their players. This is where it gets tricky, though. Did the Raptors violate league policy by not advising the league about the injuries ahead of time? Or are they merely being punished because they decided to sit out their players even though they weren't nursing any actual injuries? Surely other teams have done the latter in the past and they haven't been fined by the NBA. Should they have just lied about the injuries in order to avoid the fine?

By the looks of it, what the league is trying to clamp down on here is the blatant attempt of teams to try and not win games. The Raptors appear to have embraced full tank mode right now, and their recent personnel decisions seem to agree with this notion. For what it's worth though, they still pulled off a victory against a hapless Orlando side on Friday, 113-102.