Every Cavaliers player grabbed minutes in Monday night’s 128-93 series-clinching Game 4 destruction of the Raptors — except Rodney Hood, who apparently didn’t want to play at all.
With the Cavaliers sitting on a 30-point lead midway in the fourth quarter, coach Tyronn Lue wanted to swap Hood in for LeBron James during a timeout. However, Hood refused to enter the game, reported The Athletic, citing sources, which angered numerous teammates and people inside Cleveland’s organization.
“This is the playoffs,” an anonymous Cleveland player told the website. “We’re trying to win a championship. This isn’t about you.”
Numerous teammates tried talking to Hood to get him to check into the game, but he wouldn’t budge.
Hood met with Cavaliers general manager Koby Altman on Tuesday and apologized for not checking into the game, according to ESPN. He reportedly “feels awful” about the incident and plans to apologize to his teammates and coaching staff in the coming days.
Hood played significant minutes in the Eastern Conference quarterfinals against the Pacers, averaging 6.3 points per game in 18.9 minutes across seven games. But the 25-year-old, considered a threat from beyond the arc, struggled mightily against Indiana, making just two of his 12 attempted 3-pointers.
That shooting slump carried over to the Raptors series, with Hood shooting a miserable 1-of-9 from the floor in just 39 combined minutes across four games. That led to Cedi Osman replacing Hood in the rotation for Game 4, which would seem the reason for Hood’s discontent.
Hood, who enters the summer as a restricted free agent, was considered a building block for the Cavaliers, but now that seems very much in doubt.


