Associated Press
Another day of the NBA playoffs will be postponed, a person with knowledge of the details told The Associated Press on Thursday.
The three games will join the three that weren’t played Wednesday, the person told the AP on condition of anonymity because no official announcement had been made.
Play was set to resume at 4 p.m. with Game 6 of the Western Conference series between Utah and Denver. Boston and Toronto were also to begin their second-round series before the Clippers and Dallas met in the nightcap.
A person with knowledge of the situation earlier had said that NBA players decided Thursday that they want to continue the season, coming to that consensus one day after three postseason games were postponed in a protest of racial injustice.
It was not clear yet when the season would resume, according to the person who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because neither the league nor the National Basketball Players Association had announced anything publicly.
The NBA’s board of governors were meeting separately Thursday to decide next steps. There were three games on Thursday’s schedule, and the league did not immediately say if they would be pushed back. But with the players exiting their meeting around noon, and the first game of the tripleheader scheduled to begin at 4 p.m. Eastern, it seemed most unlikely that the day’s slate would not be disrupted.
One potential remedy for the schedule, the person said, was to play the three games that were postponed Wednesday on Friday, and the three games scheduled for Thursday on Saturday, though that had not been decided.
Starting with the Milwaukee Bucks, who refused to take the court for their game Wednesday against the Orlando Magic, players from six teams made the extraordinary decisions to protest the shooting by police in Kenosha, Wisconsin on Sunday of Jacob Blake, a Black man, apparently in the back while three of his children looked on.
Kenosha is about 40 miles south of Milwaukee.
NBA players didn’t come to Disney solely for a restart to their season. They also wanted social reform, as did other sports leagues — many of which followed the NBA’s lead Wednesday by calling off games. Some NFL teams did the same Thursday, choosing not to practice.
It followed a similar pattern as what happened in March: The NBA was the first league to shut down because of the coronavirus pandemic, and other sports followed then as well.
“The biggest thing that we all understand is if we’re not playing, what are we doing? What are we doing to show and to help what’s going on outside this bubble?” Boston Celtics forward Grant Williams said, shortly before the Bucks were scheduled to tip off their game against the Magic.
Instead, the Bucks players remained in the locker room, finally emerging hours later to read a statement demanding action from lawmakers and encouraging voting by citizens.
4 comments
M. Foster
August 27, 2020 at 1:28 pm
Now that they had their moment of glory in trying to stand for principle, they decided to pursue their real goal–bounce a ball and make lots of money.
Come on kids, get real jobs.
martin
August 27, 2020 at 3:01 pm
I have needed a doctor, nurse, a teacher, a police officer, a plumber, an electrician, a mechanic, a teacher, an engineer, a firefighter, but I have never needed an athlete. Let them stay home.
Joe Fatala
August 27, 2020 at 4:15 pm
Hmmmmmmmmmmmm………..Sounds like the green eyed monster – aka racism – is alive and well here.
Izzy Pisnosky
August 28, 2020 at 11:26 pm
Joe, you are typical liberal. Just looking for a chance to cry racism. What did Martin say that was racist?
I would wager money that the majority of people agree with him. Athletes and entertainers are not “essential” workers. In fact, given the lockdowns of the past few months people have reconnected with families. Spending more quality time together.
Improve your reading comprehension before you start calling out the race card.
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