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ASUS ROG Zephyrus G14 full review: Best AMD powered gaming laptop of 2020

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A year-end review of ASUS ROG Zephyrus G14 is quite unpleasant for many buyers, but I say if you are an Indian, this is the right time to get the laptop. In India, the ROG Zephyrus G14 arrived in August, but it took months to get the pricing stable, whereas I remember the Ryzen 9 model available nowhere until October.

However, now with ample stocks and as the successor of this laptop being announced soon next year, this is the right time to get this gaming laptop if you are looking for one. Obviously, this is the best AMD powered gaming laptop of 2020 and one of the best of the year.

I like it the most because you have many options or variants of this laptop, starting at around Rs.80k and going over Rs.150k. You get your gaming laptop powered by the Ryzen 4000H gaming processors and NVIDIA graphics according to your need.

ASUS ROG Zephyrus G14 full review: Best AMD powered gaming laptop of 2020

I got the best Ryzen 9 4900HS & RTX 2060 Max Q powered model; however, you won’t be compromised whichever variant you go for. Here’s my full review of the much-hyped ASUS ROG Zephyrus G14 and why you should buy it now:

Specifications:

ProcessorUp to 8 core/ 16 thread AMD Ryzen 9 4900HS
Display14″ 120Hz FHD IPS-level panel with Adaptive-Sync technology
GraphicsNVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 Max-Q 6GB GDDR6
Memory16 GB DDR4 3200MHz
Storage1 TB M.2 NVMe PCIe 3.0 SSD
WirelessIntel WiFi 6 (802.11ax)
Bluetooth 5.0
Connectivity1 x USB3.2 Gen2 Type-C (DisplayPort 1.4 and Power Delivery)
1 x USB3.2 Gen2 Type-C
2x USB3.2 Gen1 Type-A
1x HDMI 2.0b
1x 3.5mm headphone and microphone combo jack
KeyboardBacklit Chiclet Keyboard, N-key support, 1.7mm travel distance, 4 Hotkeys, Golden Curve, Power key with Fingerprint
Audio2x 2.5W speakers with Smart AMP technology
2x 0.7W tweeter, Array Microphone
AC Adapter180 W AC Adapter
OSWindows 10 Pro
Windows 10 Home
Size324 x 222 x 17.9 mm
Weight1.6 kg
ASUS ROG Zephyrus G14 full review: Best AMD powered gaming laptop of 2020

Design & Build

The laptop’s best part is its unique design, built on a metallic chassis with 6,536 CNC Milled Dot Matrix design; the laptop feels premium but is not heavy considering this is a premium gaming laptop. It is a perfect contender for everyday tasks; seeing the laptop, I never felt this is a gaming one, as it’s so sleek, considering this to be a gaming laptop and Ryzen 9 in it.

It is a solid laptop and is just 19.9mm thin, easy to carry, and you can game on it anytime and anywhere you need. The Honeycomb Reinforcement Chassis on the top looks amazing, especially if you have the Anime Matrix variant.

The ErgoLift hinge tilts the keyboard at a more comfortable angle and helps to get the heat dissipated as well. Overall, I have no complaints about the impressive build quality and the unique design of it.

ASUS ROG Zephyrus G14 full review: Best AMD powered gaming laptop of 2020

Display

It is a premium gaming laptop, but unlike other ones, this has a great display that makes the laptop suitable for gaming and productivity. The laptop features a 14-inch display, which you can choose from an FHD 120Hz panel or FHD 60Hz panel or a 1440p screen at 60Hz, though I prefer the FHD 120Hz for a better gaming experience.

The laptop’s display also supports AMD’s FreeSync technology that synchronizes the framerate and the refresh rate. It features skinny bezels, creating an 85% screen-to-body ratio that makes these screens feel larger. Having 100% sRGB color gamut is another plus point for doing professional work like video and photo editing easily, and it’s also Pantone validated.

ASUS ROG Zephyrus G14 performance benchmarks: AMD Ryzen 9 4900HS is insane!

If you are a professional, I think you should be looking at the Quad HD (2560 x 1440) resolution model with a 60Hz refresh rate. Having 300 nits of brightness is indeed very useful on top of an Anti-Glare IPS-level panel, making it perfect for indoor usage and taking it outdoors sometimes.

Playing games on this display has been a pleasure, with beautiful colors and the 120Hz refresh rate helping to get the best gaming experience paired with an RTX 2060 Max Q GPU. The great thing is that even on the budget Ryzen 5 model, you also get the same great display on the higher-end variant.

ASUS ROG Zephyrus G14 performance benchmarks: AMD Ryzen 9 4900HS is insane!

Performance

The performance of this laptop is obviously insane, the Ryzen 9 4900HS with all its 8 cores and 16 threads rips apart every benchmark out there. In its design and chassis, ASUS has created a beast that can be carried anywhere and can be used in any mode as per your requirement, generally its in Silent mode to save battery life.

To get the best performance out of the laptop, use it while charging, or if you want to play or work without the charger, you use the silent mode to save battery life. Be it working or gaming, this laptop is excellent either way and although it’s costly but worth spending.

ASUS ROG Zephyrus G14 full review: Best AMD powered gaming laptop of 2020

The only bad thing in terms of performance has to be the 1 TB M.2 NVMe PCIe 3.0 SSD inside it as it does not give the expected speeds that you can ask from a premium gaming laptop. I would love if ASUS uses a Samsung or WD SSDs with 2000Mbps+ speeds.

If you want to see all the benchmarks of this laptop, I highly recommend through this article where I have detailed the performance of the ASUS ROG Zephyrus G14. Overall, the laptop lives up to my expectation and indeed is the best in terms of performance out there.

Connectivity

In terms of connectivity and I/O, you shouldn’t have any issues as for Wi-Fi; you have the Intel Wi-Fi 6 (Gig+) connectivity, also known as 802.11ax. In 2020, having Wi-Fi 6 is beneficial as you can download games and stuff at high speeds and reduce latency while playing eSports games.

ASUS ROG Zephyrus G14 full review: Best AMD powered gaming laptop of 2020

The Bluetooth 5.0 on this laptop works well, and you can connect multiple devices easily to the laptop, be it headphones, Bluetooth keyboards, or a mouse. Using earbuds paired with a laptop is a great experience while answering calls and video conferences.

For the ports, you do have an adequate number of USB ports, but the inclusion of a 1 x USB3.2 Gen2 Type-C port that also supports Power Delivery makes the gaming laptop very handy if you are carrying it outdoors.

Cooling

The ROG Intelligent Cooling feature on the laptop is great on the ASUS ROG Zephyrus G14 to keep it silent during normal tasks and you hardly hear any fan spin. However, during performance mode or while playing games the Dual N-Blade Fans having 1 Blades in each Fan does really keep the laptop away from throttling.

ASUS ROG Zephyrus G14 full review: Best AMD powered gaming laptop of 2020

I faced no issues playing at highest settings possible and the fans ramping up to prevent the laptop getting heated up even though it has a Ryzen 9 4900HS in it.

Kudos for the cooling of this laptop, only one thing I noticed is that if the vents of the laptop could have been kept on the left side or the rear end that would have been better as the hot air gushes out through the right and does distract you during prolonged game sessions.

Gaming

The laptop’s primary use is obviously gaming and in that segment too, the laptop shines, so you can expect high framerates in almost all games. Powered by Ryzen 9 4900HS and RTX 2060 Max-Q, you can get smooth 1080p gaming performance.

However, the ray tracing performance isn’t that much convincing, you get 30FPS+ for selected titles if you turn both RTX and DLSS on. So, you should genuinely try FHD gaming at highest possible settings and enjoy greater framerates on this color accurate display.

If you want to check out the laptop’s gaming performance in some of the most demanding titles check our gaming benchmarks.

Audio

The ROG Zephyrus G14 features a quad speakers and they are damn loud, yes, the loudest I’ve ever heard and the 2x 0.7W tweeter does give the stereo effect.

For listening to songs, movies and even gaming, the audio of the laptop is a strong advantage you should definitely love the gaming laptop.

ASUS ROG Zephyrus G14 full review: Best AMD powered gaming laptop of 2020

Keyboard & Trackpad

It features a white backlit chiclet Keyboard with an N-key rollover and has a 1.7mm travel distance. The keyboard’s typing experience is great as the keys are tactile yet soft, indeed one of the most premium laptop keyboards I have tried out.

The keyboard has 4 hotkeys and features a power key with a fingerprint sensor in it. The fingerprint sensor, too, is fairly accurate and gets the job done for quick unlocks.

I like the trackpad on the laptop, not the largest I’ve seen, yet it is accurate and feels great for daily usage. The gestures on the trackpad work perfectly, and even for productivity-related work, it is a great one.

ASUS ROG Zephyrus G14 full review: Best AMD powered gaming laptop of 2020

Battery Life

The 76WHrs, 4-cell Lithium-Polymer Battery of the laptop promises 10 hours of battery life on normal usage, and I was getting around 4-5 hours at 70% brightness and you can stretch it to around 7 hours on video playback at lower brightness.

As a gaming laptop this amount battery life is great and thanks to the efficient Ryzen 9 4900HS along with the optimizations by ASUS, you can get max out of the ROG Zephyrus G14.

Pros & Cons

Well, every laptop has its goods and weaknesses and this one too has:

Pros:

  • Powerful 8 core AMD Ryzen 9 4900HS processor
  • RTX 2060 Max-Q 6GB GDDR6 great for 1080p gaming
  • Light and easy to carry as a gaming laptop
  • One upgradeable RAM slot
  • Good Battery life with Type-C charging support
  • Good connectivity as well as audio
  • Unique design and a gorgeous display

Cons:

  • No webcam
  • The SSD quality could have been better
  • The heatsink of the right side is a major design flaw
ASUS ROG Zephyrus G14 gaming benchmarks: Still remains a gaming champ

Verdict

Overall, this gaming laptop is a great all-rounder and a productivity king; the powerful Ryzen 9 inside it is a killer processor. Even if you get a Ryzen 5 variant with discounts, the deal won’t be a bad one because, as a whole, the ROG Zephyrus G14 is a very compact and unique laptop.

Be it work or gaming, the laptop stands by your every need without any hiccups; it consumes lesser power, has great audio, connectivity, and still is very light. It has very few cons to makes the gaming laptop non-recommendable; if you get a good deal and you should with next-gen knocking the doors, get this laptop anytime possible as indeed it’s the Best AMD powered gaming laptop of 2020.

Check out the laptop here: https://amzn.to/2VyWNLa

Tencent brings its cloud gaming service ‘START’ for TVs

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Cloud gaming is now a demanding and next-gen concept. Amazon Luna, Google Stadia, Xbox Game Pass, and GeForce has launched its cloud gaming service already. Last year, Tencent launched the service in China for macOS and Windows with the name ‘START.’ Now the company is taking preparation to bring the service for TVs.

Yesterday, Tencent announced officially that the company would launch the TV version of its cloud gaming service START on 12th December. Tencent is making deals with TV manufacturers for the kick start, such as TCL, Changhong, Hisense, and Suning’s Biu. Tencent also declared that in the future, they’d work with other major TV manufacturers too.

Last year, during the launch of its cloud gaming service, Tencent partnered with NVIDIA. In this service, NVIDIA’s GPU technology provides the same experience to the user that they get when “playing locally on a gaming rig.” Now, more players having TVs can enjoy the service on a larger screen.

This project will work for both sides because NVIDIA’s GeForce is already available in North America and Europe, and now ‘START’ will help grab the Chinese market.

Still, Tencent hasn’t informed anything about how those TVs will be featured. It is assumed that there will be an app for supported models. Games such as FIFA Online 4, League of Legends, NBA 2K Online 2, Biped, King of Fighters, and QQ Speed will be available on the cloud gaming service.

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Spotify to soon allow its mobile app users to play local music

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Spotify, the Swedish media firm, is undoubtedly one of the world’s most popular music streaming apps. As we have seen earlier, the company has been investing time in the podcast market, as its primary revenue comes from its podcast streaming and advertisements. Recently it launched a new feature that allowed users to share stories on Spotify.

Though the new feature was not received well by many critiques, it is undoubtedly a fact that the streaming service keeps growing better. Now, the streaming giant has introduced a new feature for its app. According to sources, the new feature lets users play local music files through its app.

Many users will find this new feature very convenient. As we all have quite a collection of music locally stored on our devices, we are always hunting for an excellent app to play music offline. And which better app is there to play local music than one of the world’s best media streaming platforms.

According to sources, Spotify will allow users to toggle whether they want Spotify to play music files on their phone or not. And if the new feature is chosen, then the media files will be added to the user’s library for easier access. But, the quality was already available for the streaming service’s desktop version. With Spotify releasing the feature for its mobile platform is a huge deal. It is undoubtedly going to increase the streaming service’s subscriber count.

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Top 10 most expensive countries to buy a PS5

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PlayStation 5, the next-gen console by Sony, has already been released worldwide last month but the availability has been scarce which has seen an abrupt rise in prices.

A recent research has been made to analyze the retail prices of the digital version of PS5 in 100 countries across the world. The findings are as below.

  • Brazil has the most expensive PS5, coming in at $790.00 or 4,122.73 Brazilian Real.
  • This is 221.8% more than the average monthly salary of Brazil, which is roughly $356.13. 
  • Half of the countries in this top 10 ranking are located in Central and South America.
RankCountryRetail price in $
1Brazil$790.00
2Peru$748.23
3Chile$660.05
4South Africa$652.24
5Colombia$605.33
6Russia$587.08
7Sweden$584.97
8Mexico$573.67
9Denmark$540.83
10India$535.63

*The prices displayed are of the digital version of the new PS5 and were gathered in the local currency and converted into USD.

If you’re from India, you can also take a look at the PlayStation 4 available on Amazon at such a low price, link: https://amzn.to/3mXQay0

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Lifesavers and creatives top New African magazine’s 100 Most Influential Africans list

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The list is broken down into Leaders, Pathfinders, Creatives and Icons

LONDON, United Kingdom, December 8, 2020/ — New African magazine honours men and women who had a significant impact in their different fields; Physicians, scientists and epidemiologists who wrestled with the Covid-19 monster in do-or-die struggles, feature significantly in this year’s list; They are joined by actors, comedians, writers, producers and musicians who made 2020 more bearable thanks to much-needed entertainment; The list is broken down into Leaders, Pathfinders, Creatives and Icons; Female and non-binary artists and writers dominate the Creatives category; South Africa, Nigeria and Ghana make for nearly half of the laureates with 47 entries but many more countries such as Zimbabwe, Zambia and Sudan feature on the list.

The much anticipated annual listing of the 100 Most Influential Africans of 2020 published by the continent’s premier pan-African publication, London-based New African magazine appears in the December issue, on general sale this week.

The format of the listing this time has been simplified into four categories allowing for a more flexible and more inclusive range of entries: Leaders; Pathfinders; Creatives; and Icons.

In a year dominated by Covid-19 and lockdowns, the spotlight this time turns on the African medical and scientific community which has done sterling and in many cases pioneering work to combat the pandemic.

As Africa remains the least impacted region in the world by the virus, several public health heroes make list, including Nigeria’s‘virus detective’ Chikwe Ihekweazu, and vaccine expert Moroccan Moncef Slaoui who was appointed chief advisor to US Operation Warp Speed to organise vaccine production and distribution.

In tandem, there is a splurge of world-class output from Africa’s writers, actors and actresses, producers, artists, dancers, chefs, fashionistas and presenters with many of them winning prestigious international awards.

For example, making the list is globally-acclaimed Nigerian writer and activist Chimanda Ngozi Adichie whose bestselling novel Half of a Yellow Sun was voted ‘Winner of Winners’ at the 2020 Women’s Prize for Fiction; as well as Zambian Namwali Serpell whose debut novel has won the Arthur. C Clarke award for science fiction. In music, South Africa’s Master KG song Jerusalema the most Shazamed song of all time, has become a global hit bringing joy to millions around the world. 

Although English-speaking countries still dominate the 2020 listing with 76% of all entries, representation of Arabic, French and Portuguese-speaking countries make up a sizeable 24%.

As has been traditional, the Most Influential Africans of 2020 list also feature a host of acclaimed leaders in commerce, industry and sport, who have made a mark in their various fields of expertise.

The December issue of New African is available on newsstands in 75 countries and via the app store and the magazine’s digital channels.

To read this month’s edition and full archives shop at: https://bit.ly/2JKBYKm.

Cristiano Ronaldo may return to Old Trafford as Manchester United shirt sponsor, Chevrolet is ready to finance the move

‘The Prince of Manchester’ can make a sensational return to Old Trafford after 11 years. As per recent reports, Cristiano Ronaldo may return to Manchester United, with the club’s shirt sponsor, ‘Chevrolet’ reportedly willing to help finance the move.

Cristiano Ronaldo left Manchester United in 2009 for Real Madrid after spending 6 years in Manchester. He has scored 118 goals for the Red Devils in his 292 appearances and has won three Premier League titles, three domestic cups and the Champions League and the first of his now five Ballon d’Ors.

In 2018 he joined Juventus. But Juventus now want to get rid of him after the financial impact of the coronavirus pandemic. Ronaldo gets £28million per season as his wage at Turin. As Ronaldo is in excellent form domestically and internationally, there will be a huge transfer fee as well. It will help Juventus financially.

According to a report by Auto Esporte, Chevrolet believes bringing back Cristiano Ronaldo to Manchester United would be a shrewd business move. Chevrolet has noticed the positive impact of Cristiano Ronaldo on Juventus’ shirt sponsor and Chevrolet competitor, Jeep.

Yesterday, Paul Pogba’s agent Mino Raiola told TuttoSport, “I can say that it’s over for Paul Pogba at Manchester United.” Juventus was interested to re-sign Paul Pogba. He can also be part of the move if both the clubs go for a swap move. It will also help both parties.

Barcelona vs Juventus: Lineup and how to watch the UEFA Champions League match live in India?

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After 2 years, we are finally going to see the two GOATs of world football on the same football pitch. Cristiano Ronaldo will be travelling to Camp Nou to face Lionel Messi.

We were used to watching the two in El Clasicos during Ronaldo’s time at Real Madrid. But after Ronaldo’s departure to Juventus in 2018, this is the first time that the duo will be facing each other.

Sadly, this can as well be the last time we can see Messi and Ronaldo playing with each other as both are in the twilight of their careers. So this match is of added importance to all the football fans.

When is the Barcelona vs Juventus UEFA Champions League match?

The UEFA Champions League match between Barcelona and Juventus will be played on 8th December 2020.

Where will be the match played?

The match will be played at Barcelona’s home ground, Camp Nou.

What time does the match kick-off?

The match will kick-off at 1:30 AM IST (Wednesday, 9th December).

Which TV channels will broadcast the UEFA Champions League match live in India?

Sony Sports Networks India is the exclusive broadcasting partner of the UEFA Champions League in India. You can watch the match live on Sony Ten 2.

How can you watch the live streaming of the match in India?

You can catch the live streaming of the Barcelona vs Juventus UEFA Champions League match in India on Sony LIV.

Probable Lineups:

Barcelona: Ter Stegen; Dest, Araujo, Lenglet, Alba; Pjanic, De Jong; Pedri, Messi, Coutinho; Griezmann.

Juventus: Szczesny; Cuadrado, Bonucci, De Ligt, Sandro; Kulusevski, Rabiot, Bentancur, Chiesa; Morata, Ronaldo.

PSG will do everything in their power to keep Mbappe at the club

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It goes without saying that Kylian Mbappe is Paris Saint-Germain’s most prized asset. Every news media outlet dealing in football news has been linking the teen World Cup winner to Real Madrid amongst all other clubs, owing to two reasons. 

Firstly, because the youngster idolises Cristiano Ronaldo and would definitely want to follow in CR7’s footsteps by donning the white shirt at Real Madrid.

Secondly, Real Madrid have had the Galactico policy in store for about two decades now. So many of the world’s greatest players have been Madrid players at some point in their careers, and Mbappe’s unbelievable talent makes him a surefire Madrid player some time in the future. 

All that said, his current employers, PSG are well aware of Mbappe’s desire to go to Madrid and are also at the risk of the Frenchman entering the final year of his contract, set to expire in 2022. 

PSG director Leonardo had an interesting update to give regarding the contractual situation of Mbappe at the club. The 21-year-old, much like Ronaldo at Juventus, wants to be involved in sporting decisions at the club if he is to extend his stay at the French capital. 

In simpler words, the player will be consulted and will have a say regarding the style of play, possibly the arrival or the departure of the managers at the club, as well as a say in the direction that the club takes. 

Considering his overall influence and importance to the club, involving Mbappe in decisions pertaining to the roster could be beneficial for PSG in the long run. He is their best player right now, and recently celebrated his 100th goal for the club. 

So far in Ligue 1 this season, he has scored 10 and assisted 5 in 9 matches for the Parisians. Of course, Mbappe is destined to be a Madrid player someday in the future. But Paris seem to be willing to do everything in their power to keep their superstar happy and committed to the club. 

Warriors’ Wiseman and Green reportedly test positive for COVID-19

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On Monday, when the Golden State Warriors started training camp, forward Draymond Green and recent No. 2 overall pick James Wiseman were absent. It was reported last week that that two Warriors players had tested positive for the coronavirus, causing the team to delay the beginning of their training camp.

On Monday afternoon, Warriors coach Steve Kerr addressed the media. He said he would not comment on either player’s absence any further, but that “you can make your own deductions.” Kerr is not allowed to name players who test positive for COVID-19. According to the San Francisco Chronicle’s Connor Letourneau, Wiseman and Green are the two players who tested positive for the disease.

Originally, the Warriors reported that two players had tested positive for the virus last Tuesday, and according to instructions given by the NBA, Green and Wiseman would need to quarantine away from the team for 10 to 12 days before registering two negative COVID-19 tests to suit up again.

Wiseman was the 2nd overall pick in the 2020 NBA Draft, conducted the past month. Image Credits: NBC Sports

The Warriors are one of the few teams that have had to either close practice facilities or delay training camp. On Sunday, the Portland Trail Blazers announced that three members in their organization tested positive for the disease, forcing them to deep clean their facilities and send everyone home. Additionally, the Raptors also reported having three COVID-19 positive cases, but via contact tracing found that there was no additional spread.

It is not clear whether Wiseman and Green will be able to suit up in time for the Warriors’ first preseason game against the Denver Nuggets scheduled on Saturday. This may cause another setback for a team that suffered a major blow after All-Star guard Klay Thompson tore his right Achilles last month, which will require him to miss the entire upcoming season.

Kerr said that although Wiseman will be at a disadvantage out the gates because of the positive COVID-19 test, he is still watching tape and talking to coaches to prepare for his first NBA season.

For the NBA, this is only a glimpse at the season that lies ahead of them. It is unlikely that this will be the last time a team has to deal with shortened or altered rosters due to positive coronavirus tests. The league has laid out health and safety guidelines to try and curb the spread of the virus, but without the existence of a bubble, there will always be a risk.

NBA to reportedly fine teams if they rest healthy players for nationally televised games

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On Monday, the constant debate on load management and resting players continued, thanks to a new policy implemented by the NBA. According to Yahoo Sports’ Chris Haynes, in this season teams will be fined a minimum of $100,000 if they are found to be resting healthy players for games televised nationally.

In the last season, the league tried to clarify the rules surrounding load management, which is when it introduced the rule about players not sitting out national television games. It also required teams to rest players at home rather than on the road, and instructed organizations to not rest multiple players in the same game.

Last season, the Los Angeles Clippers were notably fined $50,000 for refusing to follow those protocols when they had Kawhi Leonard sit out against the Milwaukee Bucks. Although, they were only penalized because then-head coach Doc Rivers made comments postgame that contradicted the team’s official statement about Leonard’s health.

The Clippers organization had rested Kawhi Leonard a few times last season. Image Credits: Bleacher Report

As seen in the Clippers incident, it is relatively easy for teams to circumvent these rules by declaring that a player is injured instead of saying they are resting. While the league has procedures set up to make teams jump through some hoops such as notifying it and documenting the injury, it is fairly simple to provide proof that a player is suffering from a sore ankle or tight hamstring.

While there may be a couple of teams that the league makes an example out of early in the season, it is hard to imagine these types of fines becoming a regular occurrence. Besides, even if they were, $100,000 to an NBA franchise is not much, and many might see it as a worthwhile investment to keep their big men healthy.

Additionally, even if it is true that these fines end up being rare, implementing them before this season seems like a tone-deaf decision by the NBA. With a new condensed schedule and COVID-19 prevalent across the country, it is going to be more challenging than ever for teams to get through the season in one piece. Introducing another punitive measure will not help matters either.

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