EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J., May 12 — The National Basketball Association handed Nets forward Cliff Robinson a five-game suspension Friday for violating the league's antidrug program, a blow to the team's chances in its second-round playoff series against the Miami Heat.
This is the second time in a little more than a year that Robinson has received such a suspension.
Robinson, whose suspension began Friday with Game 3, will miss the rest of the best-of-seven series against the Heat. If the Nets advance in fewer than seven games, the suspension will carry over to the Eastern Conference finals.
"The timing obviously is not very good," said Rod Thorn, the Nets' president.
Robinson, 39, who is in his 17th N.B.A. season, had been the team's best reserve. He had been especially valuable in this series because of his defense against Heat center Shaquille O'Neal.
In Games 1 and 2, power forward Jason Collins started against O'Neal, but Robinson played more total minutes.
In the Nets' 103-92 loss to the Heat on Friday in Game 3, Collins played 36 minutes. Without Robinson in the lineup, Collins had to cautious to avoid foul trouble; he fouled out with 1 minutes 40 seconds to play. He had 2 points and 11 rebounds. O'Neal scored 19 points and had 9 rebounds.
The Nets have John Thomas, who is 6 feet 9 inches and 265 pounds, as an option off the bench against O'Neal, who is 7-1 and 325 pounds.
A month ago, Thomas was not even on Nets. He was signed to a free-agent contract for the final two games of the regular season. The Nets kept Thomas on their playoff roster. He played 16 minutes against the Heat in Game 1 and nine minutes in Game 2. Most of that time was spent guarding O'Neal. On Friday night, Thomas played seven minutes and did not score.
After Collins (7-0, 255 pounds) and Thomas, the Nets are short on big bodies — if Thomas could even be classified as a big body.
The Nets have two other 6-9 players, Bostjan Nachbar and Scott Padgett. Both have perimeter-oriented games and would probably not stand a chance against O'Neal in the post.
Lamond Murray could play power forward, but he is only 6-7 and plays more at small forward.
The Nets could assign their other 7-footer, center Nenad Krstic, to spend time defending O'Neal. But that could make him susceptible to foul trouble and hurt his offense. Krstic is probably not bulky enough to be a stalwart in the low post.
Robinson's absence will make this series more difficult, but his teammates were not ready to scorn him.
"We're behind Cliff 100 percent," Thomas said before referring to Coach Lawrence Frank. "Coach talked about family and how important family is. You're not with family just through the good times. The mood of the team is we just have to stay focused and get the job done."
Robinson was arrested for possession of marijuana when he was with Portland in 1997, but the charges were dropped. In 2001, when he was with Phoenix, Robinson was convicted of a misdemeanor possession of marijuana and he pleaded guilty to driving while under the influence.
The N.B.A. requires any player who has been convicted of a marijuana charge to enroll in the league's marijuana treatment program.
In February 2005, shortly before he was traded to the Nets from Golden State, Robinson received a five-game suspension for violating the antidrug program. Under the program, a player can be suspended for reasons other than a positive test. A player who fails to comply with the terms of the marijuana program, for instance, can be subject to fines and suspensions.
Under the program, a player must receive a five-game suspension after his third marijuana offense.
Robinson, who has never won an N.B.A. championship, said before the playoffs started that he felt as good about his chances of winning a title this year as he ever had in his career. But he may have ruined those chances.
"It obviously catches you off guard because Cliff is such a good person and good teammate," Frank said. "We all make mistakes in life."
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