The Celtics were supposed to open their second-round NBA playoff series against the Raptors on Thursday, plans that were interrupted by the player boycott of games Wednesday to protest the police shooting of Jacob Blake in Kenosha, Wisconsin. Instead, according to the Boston Globe, the Celtics’ season will pick back up on Sunday.
NBA games, according to the report, will come back into action on Saturday as players and owners meet to discuss more ways to emphasize the cause of social justice in the league and in the communities in which the league’s teams play.
ESPN reporter Adrian Wojnarowski indicated that the specifics of the resumption have not been finalized, but he tweeted that there was an “expectation” that games would get back underway on Saturday.
There is still a discussion ongoing among players about the timing of a playoff resumption — with an expectation that a Saturday return of games will be finalized later today, sources tell ESPN.
The league also added a statement, saying, “We are hopeful to resume games either Friday or Saturday. There is a video conference call meeting scheduled later this afternoon between a group of NBA players and team governors representing the 13 teams in Orlando, along with representatives from the National Basketball Players Association and the league office and NBA Labor Relations Committee Chairman Michael Jordan, to discuss next steps.”
The NBA is attempting to resume the season, which was interrupted in March because of the spread of the novel coronavirus. The Celtics are the Eastern Conference’s No. 3 seed and swept Philadelphia in the first round of the playoffs.
Bucks Boycott Led the Way
This marks the further development of the stunning turn of events over the last 24 hours, which began with the Milwaukee Bucks, who were scheduled to play Game 5 of their first-round playoff series against the Magic in Orlando, boycott their game.
Once the Bucks pulled out of their game, the entire NBA slate was postponed and the schedule for Thursday was called off, too.
On Wednesday night, a tense player meeting was held in which all remaining teams in Orlando voted to continue on with the playoffs—except for two, the Clippers and Lakers, two of the favorites to win an NBA championship this year. According to multiple reports, Lakers star LeBron James was among the players who walked out of the meeting early, raising the specter of a total cancelation of the season.
A meeting on Thursday brought players back together, though, having hashed through some of their issues. According to Yahoo! Sports’ Chris Haynes the meeting featured, “James, among others, relaying it was in their best interest to finish out the season.”
Players then voted to continue with the NBA playoffs.
Yahoo Sources: There was a change in position from last night with LeBron James, among others, relaying it was in their best interest to finish out the season.
Celtics’ Jaylen Brown Challenged Fellow Players
The Celtics had an active part in the drama of the past day in the NBA, particularly forward Jaylen Brown, who has been outspoken in his criticism of police violence for months now.
According to Marc Spears of ESPN, Brown actively challenged players who proposed canceling the remainder of the NBA season on Wednesday night.
“Jaylen Brown also asked them, ‘OK, if you guys leave here, are you just gonna leave and go chill and hang out with your families and lose that loneliness? Or are you going to be in the trenches? Are you going to be in the streets?’” Spears said on SportsCenter.
Jaylen Brown reportedly challenged players who want to leave bubble and go home “If you leave, are you going to leave and hang out with your families?are you going to be in the trenches, are you going to be in the streets? (via
@MarcJSpears )
Brown drove from Boston to Georgia back in late May to lead a peaceful protest in Atlanta, his hometown, in the wake of the killing of George Floyd at the hands of police in Minneapolis.
At the time, he said, “I drove 15 hours to get to Georgia, my community. This is a peaceful protest. Being a celebrity, being an NBA player, don’t exclude me from no conversations at all. First and foremost, I’m a black man and I’m a member of this community. […] We’re raising awareness for some of the injustices that we’ve been seeing. It’s not OK.”
And just the other day, on Tuesday in the NBA bubble, Brown lamented the fact that as the playoffs had gotten underway, the focus on social justice had shifted away from NBA players. He said it was important to get it back there because so many people in his orbit have been affected by the types of issues the league was speaking out against in the early stages of the league’s restart.
“I know I’m not a politician or an elected official or whatever, but I still care about my community,” Brown told reporters. “I still care about what’s going on outside in the world. I have a family. I have cousins, I have people who have history with the police, or have been convicted of felonies, etc., and I want them to be treated fairly. But most people want me to just shut up and dribble.”
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Celtics Schedule: Timing for Playoff Resumption Revealed