Report: Tiago Splitter fined $5K for flop (Video)

It looks like a bad game has

According to the official NBA release, Splitter’s flop occurred at the 7:30 mark in the second quarter of Game 4. Here is video of Splitter’s world class flop.

Splitter isn’t the smallest guy in the NBA nor is Serge Ibaka the strongest, making Splitter’s exaggerated flop look worse. His attempt to draw a foul on Ibaka failed miserably, only embarrassing himself in the process.

Overall, Game 4 was a bad night for Tiago Splitter. In 19 minutes of play, Splitter posted 3 points on 1-of-3 shooting, 1 rebound, 1 block and a plus-minus of -13 or what we like to call “the Roy Hibbert”. Since the return of Serge Ibaka, Splitter’s impact has been non-existent, especially in comparison to the work he put in not he defensive end against Dirk Nowitzki in the opening round and Lamarcus Aldridge in the conference semi-finals. Splitter’s bad play has made analysts begin to suggest rather he should remain a starter in the series.

With the Oklahoma City Thunder opting to go small, this series is becoming reminiscent of the 2013 NBA Finals where small-bal lineups from Erik Spoesltra forced Gregg Popovich to go small, forcing Splitter out of the starting lineup. This could mean an insertion of Manu Ginobili or Boris Diaw into the starting lineup, relegating Splitter to a reserve role.

Tiago Splitter joins Lance Stephenson (IND) as the only two players to be fined for a flop during the 2014 NBA playoffs.