Hood regrets refusing to enter Game 4, will accept any role to help Cavs win
Rodney Hood made a mistake, and while he believes it was blown out of proportion, he apologized and is ready to move on.
The Cleveland Cavaliers shooting guard refused to enter Monday's series-clinching Game 4 win over the Toronto Raptors when head coach Tyronn Lue asked him to play in the fourth quarter of the blowout. On Thursday, he opened up about his reasoning.
"It was end of game and there's seven minutes to go, and I saw we had bodies, you know Jose (Calderon) wanted to go in and I told them, 'Just let Jose play,'" Hood explained to ESPN's Dave McMenamin. "But I should have just went in and there would have been no confusion, and obviously I should have known it was going to be (a story) because I didn't play throughout the duration of the game that it was going to look bad.
"But it wasn't (as bad) as people was trying to make it. But next time I'm definitely going to go in. I apologized to T-Lue for any confusion and stuff like that, but that's all it was."
The Cavaliers were leading by 30 points with 7:38 remaining when Hood had the opportunity to check in, but he instead opted to pick up his first DNP-CD of the postseason as his team completed a 4-0 sweep of the No. 1-seeded Raptors.
Hood apologized to GM Koby Altman, front-office brass, and Lue on Tuesday, then the rest of the team on Thursday and "was not met by a hostile crowd," per McMenamin.
Lue indicated he and the rest of the organization forgave Hood, who wasn't disciplined for the transgression.
"He's a good guy. He didn't mean nothing malicious by it. That's not who he is. We understand and know that. We just moved on," said Lue, adding the team has shifted its focus to its East Finals opponents, the Boston Celtics.
Hood, who joined the Cavaliers in a midseason trade from the Utah Jazz, is averaging 4.6 points, 1.4 rebounds, and 1.1 assists over 10 playoff games with Cleveland. He vowed to do his part to contribute to the Cavaliers' success as they try to make a fourth consecutive trip to the NBA Finals - regardless of his role.
"Like, I'm a selfless guy even though this don't look well, but I'm a selfless guy," Hood said, "and regardless of how many minutes I play, starting, coming off the bench or not playing or whatever, I'm trying to win. I'm trying to win a ring and that's what it's about."