“Mushy bones and everything”

Part 1: You don't have to be injured to sit out a game.

READ PART 2: The ice is thinner than you think.

BY HENRY ABBOTT

From time to time, the NBA releases official statements. If they are intended to quell controversy, that’s not how it has been working lately. The NBA’s first statement in response to Daryl Morey’s Hong Kong tweet seemed to stoke more fights than it calmed. The Mandarin-language version was reportedly different in key ways, and even the English version needed updating by the commissioner. In the following days, Adam Silver clarified the key point that the league supports freedom of speech. 

Similarly, last week the NBA issued a statement fining the Clippers $50,000 for … something confusing. It was related to the team’s decision not to play their star, Kawhi Leonard, for a nationally televised game against the Bucks. 

The first issue was that Leonard, for whatever reason, has never publicly disclosed an ongoing health issue. He sat out 22 games last year in a much-discussed injury prevention regimen managing something mysteri…