Cavs laugh off Hood’s apology for staying on bench
INDEPENDENCE, Ohio — Rodney Hood got an unusual reaction when he apologized to his Cleveland Cavaliers teammates for refusing to check into Game 4 of their NBA Eastern Conference semifinal against Toronto. They laughed.
The chaotic Cavs have dealt with bigger nonsense this season.
“They were like, ‘Hood, that’s not really a distraction’ because of everything that they’ve been through this year,” he said.
“So they all made light of it. They understand, so it wasn’t anything, really.”
Hood added another distraction to a season full of them on Tuesday night when he waved off coach Tyronn Lue’s request to replace LeBron James during the fourth quarter of the Cavs’ blowout win over the Raptors.
The Cavs were ahead by 30 when Hood, whose playing time has dwindled in the postseason, told Lue to put in Jose Calderon instead.
Hood said he told Lue to “just let Jose play” and then regretted his decision.
“I should have known because I didn’t play throughout the duration of the game that it was gonna look bad, but it wasn’t (as bad) as people were trying to make it,” Hood said.
“Next time I’m definitely going to go in. I apologized to T-Lue for any confusion, but that’s all it was.
“I should have took it more serious and went in there and got some reps up and got in a little rhythm.”
The Cavs did not fine or suspend the 25-year-old Hood, who came to Cleveland in a Feb 8 trade from Utah.
Both before and after Hood arrived, the Cavs, who will open the Eastern Conference final on Sunday in Boston, have dealt with a lengthy list of disruptions.
There was the heated team meeting in which some players confronted Kevin Love for missing time. There was the roster overhaul at the trading deadline. There was Lue’s medical absence, Tristan Thompson’s relationship with reality TV star Khloe Kardashian and almost constant speculation surrounding superstar LeBron James’ future. A season-long soap opera. But Love said Hood has been forgiven and it’s likely the Cavs will need him against the Celtics.
“I was that guy before,” Love said. “Not even that it’s a second chance, but things like that happen in the course of a season.
“I’ve only known Rodney for a short period of time, but I know he’s a great guy. I know he’s here to win. Was that a great decision? Maybe not. But he came in today, said he’s all in and we believe him. That’s why we were able to laugh it off.”
Hood started Game 1 in the opening round against Indiana, but has not been effective coming off the bench. He scored just two points in the three games against the Raptors on 1 of 9 shooting.
Hood, though, is confident he can contribute. Just three days after joining the Cavs, he had one of his best games on Feb 11 at Boston, scoring 15 points.