Cleveland Cavaliers guard Donovan Mitchell reacts in the third quarter against the Milwaukee Bucks at Rocket Arena.

The NBA has fined the Cleveland Cavaliers $100,000 for sitting star players Donovan Mitchell and Evan Mobley during the team's Nov. 12 game against the Miami Heat. Both players were left out of the contest for load management/rest purposes.

This decision was in violation of the league's new Player Participation Policy, which encourages star players to play during the regular season. It's become a common practice for team to regularly sit their best players throughout the season in anticipation of the playoffs. The league deemed both Mitchell and Mobley to be "star players."

Why is this new policy in effect?

The new policy is meant to discourage players from sitting out important regular-season games, including nationally televised contests and NBA Cup games.

The policy also dictates that teams are only allowed to sit one "star player" per contest, meaning regardless of where the Cavs-Heat game was airing, the Cavaliers still would've been in violation of the policy.

What determines a "star player"?

According to the Player Participation Policy, the NBA classifies a star player as "any player who, in any of the prior three seasons, was selected to an All-NBA Team or an NBA All-Star team. This definition also applies, following a given season’s All-Star Game, to any player who is named an All-Star during that season."

On the Cavaliers, only Mitchell and Mobley qualify. Although fellow teammate Jarrett Allen has been named an All-Star in the past, his lone All-Star selection came four seasons ago, disqualifying him from "star player" status.

Did the Cavs win that game against the Heat?

Yes, the Cavaliers won that game 130-112, thanks in large part to Jarrett Allen, who recorded 30 points and 10 rebounds in the win.

How many games have Mitchell and Mobley missed thus far?

Mitchell has missed two of the Cavaliers' first 13 games of the season. Mobley has missed just the one against the Heat.

The only other game Mitchell missed was a Halloween night showdown against the Toronto Raptors. Cleveland lost that game 112-101.

Both players have participated in each of the Cavaliers' three games since facing the Heat.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: NBA fines Cavaliers $100K for sitting Donovan Mitchell, Evan Mobley

Reporting by Jon Hoefling, USA TODAY / USA TODAY

USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect