NBA Thread

[Rogue219]

7. Hilarious and would be fun to watch, but I might feel cheated out of a Lakers Clips series. I guess it would depend on how competitive the Mavs would be with the Lakers.

If you think about it though, the Clippers are lucky its tied up at 2. The two games won were both competitive but Porzingis got thrown out early in Game 1 on a BS technical and Luka sprained his ankle in Game 3 and had to leave the game. It could easily be 3-1 Mavs right now.

Yeah, but if my aunt had balls, she'd be my uncle.

Clippers are without their most important defender (Beverly), which has been evident by how terrible they have been versus the pick and roll. Mavs are going right at Jackson because he's bad.

It is a best of three now. Clippers have some manpower issues. Lakers v Clippers may not be much to look at if that's the series we wind up with.

 

[Irish#1]

Did the Clippers just wake up?

 

[Rogue219]

Did the Clippers just wake up?

Shot 63% from the field. That'll do.

 

[Irish2155]

My Pacers went out without a whimper. Missing Sabonis and O still working his way back didn't help.

Anyone but the Lakers.

Pacers fired Coach Nate Today I heard on the radio.

 

[IHateMarkMay]

Pacers fired Coach Nate Today I heard on the radio.

Yeah, I'm not a big basketball fan, but I follow it and the Pacers are my team of choice. Very surprising seeing as their full strength team played less than 100 minutes together this season (Malcolm Brogdon, Oladipo, T.J. Warren, Sabonis and Turner, per ESPN). It seems a little premature.

Apparently looking at D'Antoni who has another year left on his contract.

 

[Irish2155]

Just saw that the Bucks forfeited their playoff game tonight.

 

[greyhammer90]

Just saw that the Bucks forfeited their playoff game tonight.

I don't think its a confirmed forfeit yet everything is just saying boycott. Not sure what the situation will be because I'm sure a lot of Magic players/coaches wouldn't be thrilled about getting the "W".

This is actually nuts. Never thought I'd see it.

 

[Irish2155]

NBA just postponed all games tonight.

 

[NorthDakota]

I don't think its a confirmed forfeit yet everything is just saying boycott. Not sure what the situation will be because I'm sure a lot of Magic players/coaches wouldn't be thrilled about getting the "W".

This is actually nuts. Never thought I'd see it.

Lol id take that W. Gotta get 'em where ya can.

 

[Irish2155]

Lol id take that W. Gotta get 'em where ya can.

Coach Nate needed that W apparently

 

[Irish#1]

NBA just postponed all games tonight.

Did that before other teams did the same thing. NBA is heading towards the danger zone

 

[NorthDakota]

Lol apparently the Clippers and Lakers are boycotting...THE SEASON.

Easy to see why the Clippers want out...a 21 year old kid from a country most folks have never heard of is kicking their ass.

NBA is in a spot. Apparently ratings have been going down for years? I dont follow very close. Never was huge into it but kept tabs on it.

Wonder if any significant number of fans will leave and not come back.

 

[NDVirginia19]

Man, that would almost be hilarious given how much money they invested to get this bubble to happen. Good thing I don't really care about basketball.

 

[Irish#1]

Adam Silver has a huge problem on his hands. He basically bent over backwards and agreed to pretty much all of the players demands in order to finish the season. He and the owners are now being held captive. "Give them an inch and they'll take a mile".

Players don't realize that they are just entertainers and people use sports for entertainment and a 2 hour vacation from the world. This may end up being a big mistake.

 

[arahop]

Adam Silver has a huge problem on his hands. He basically bent over backwards and agreed to pretty much all of the players demands in order to finish the season. He and the owners are now being held captive. "Give them an inch and they'll take a mile".

Players don't realize that they are just entertainers and people use sports for entertainment and a 2 hour vacation from the world. This may end up being a big mistake.

No it's not a mistake. Professional athletes have more influence on society.
Guys like you and me are just "workers" They are in the public eye.
They are boycotting for racial Injustice.
"Give them an inch, and they take a mile"?
They realize that what's going on is more important than giving people "2 hour vacations"
They want people to wake up and understand that.

 

[Ndaccountant]

Adam Silver has a huge problem on his hands. He basically bent over backwards and agreed to pretty much all of the players demands in order to finish the season. He and the owners are now being held captive. "Give them an inch and they'll take a mile".

Players don't realize that they are just entertainers and people use sports for entertainment and a 2 hour vacation from the world. This may end up being a big mistake.

Gotta disagree here. They aren't emotionless jesters that exist for other peoples entertainment. The fact is, a material portion of these players come from neighborhoods that have torn apart recently and these players have not been able to do anything more than have catch phrases on their jersey or post to social media. Their community is too important to them to sit idle in Orlando. They are grown as men who can make a decision. I applaud them for acting on their conviction. That said, if there are any negative consequences of this, like lower salary pool for next season. I don't want to hear about it.

 

[NDdomer2]

No it's not a mistake. Professional athletes have more influence on society.
Guys like you and me are just "workers" They are in the public eye.
They are boycotting for racial Injustice.
"Give them an inch, and they take a mile"?
They realize that what's going on is more important than giving people "2 hour vacations"
They want people to wake up and understand that.

Gotta disagree here. They aren't emotionless jesters that exist for other peoples entertainment. The fact is, a material portion of these players come from neighborhoods that have torn apart recently and these players have not been able to do anything more than have catch phrases on their jersey or post to social media. Their community is too important to them to sit idle in Orlando. They are grown as men who can make a decision. I applaud them for acting on their conviction. That said, if there are any negative consequences of this, like lower salary pool for next season. I don't want to hear about it.

I am somewhere in between on this. Do I think they should just "shut up and dribble" - no.

Do I think not playing yesterday (or the rest of this season) is truly going to create CHANGE. I'm not so sure either.

Maybe someone could explain to me more how not playing the game leads to less police brutality in a way i'm not comprehending. If you told me, they are using their millions earned playing and supporting minority programs, or paying for increased training and recruiting in their local PD's, I could see that. But couldnt they do those things and play?

As of right now they are all stuck at Disney World sitting in a hotel room. So because they chose not to play yesterday (or if it ends up being rest of playoffs), roughly 2 million people* out of 330 million in the united states dont get basketball, equating to roughly 0.6% of the country "hearing" their calls for change. So is that enough to "wake up and understand"?

*NBA Bubble TV ratings found here:http://www.showbuzzdaily.com/articles/skedball-weekly-sports-tv-ratings-8-17-8-23-2020.html

 

[FightingIrishLover7]

I am somewhere in between on this. Do I think they should just "shut up and dribble" - no.

Do I think not playing yesterday (or the rest of this season) is truly going to create CHANGE. I'm not so sure either.

Maybe someone could explain to me more how not playing the game leads to less police brutality in a way i'm not comprehending. If you told me, they are using their millions earned playing and supporting minority programs, or paying for increased training and recruiting in their local PD's, I could see that. But couldnt they do those things and play?

As of right now they are all stuck at Disney World sitting in a hotel room. So because they chose not to play yesterday (or if it ends up being rest of playoffs), roughly 2 million people* out of 330 million in the united states dont get basketball, equating to roughly 0.6% of the country "hearing" their calls for change. So is that enough to "wake up and understand"?

*NBA Bubble TV ratings found here:http://www.showbuzzdaily.com/articles/skedball-weekly-sports-tv-ratings-8-17-8-23-2020.html

This news is reaching more than NBA viewers - the headlines/publicity is what they're aiming for.

 

[TorontoGold]

Gotta disagree here. They aren't emotionless jesters that exist for other peoples entertainment. The fact is, a material portion of these players come from neighborhoods that have torn apart recently and these players have not been able to do anything more than have catch phrases on their jersey or post to social media. Their community is too important to them to sit idle in Orlando. They are grown as men who can make a decision. I applaud them for acting on their conviction. That said, if there are any negative consequences of this, like lower salary pool for next season. I don't want to hear about it.

This x1000.

It is SUPER ironic that a lot of people have officially given up the position "I don't what you protesting during MY 3 hour break, it's my escape!" To now, "Well no no no, you can't just quit on MY entertainment, stop using your labour and leverage to push your agenda". It was never about when/where the right time to protest, is what they never agreed with the message so they didn’t want to hear it

They are still human beings at their core. They're allowed to withhold their services/labour for whatever they so choose.

 

[greyhammer90]

Maybe someone could explain to me more how not playing the game leads to less police brutality in a way i'm not comprehending. If you told me, they are using their millions earned playing and supporting minority programs, or paying for increased training and recruiting in their local PD's, I could see that. But couldnt they do those things and play?

Players don't play, games don't happen. Games don't happen, tv commercials don't happen. TV commercials don't happen, TV networks don't get paid. TV Networks don't get paid, Owners don't get paid. Owners are big money donors to political candidates. They are "in the room" with those people. Also taking away the "circus" from the "bread and circuses", tends to annoy the voters. Large political systems don't like that.

As to your other point, players are millionaires, owners are billionaires. The difference between a millionaire and billionaire in wealth (and therefore influence) is unfathomable. Saying that players should pooling the money to help out their causes is pretty silly because 1) a lot of them are, and 2) even if you had all the players living like pious monks and giving 99% of their income to good causes, the owners could do the same amount and it be akin to me getting an extra cell phone plan.

 

[Irish#1]

No it's not a mistake. Professional athletes have more influence on society.
Guys like you and me are just "workers" They are in the public eye.
They are boycotting for racial Injustice.
"Give them an inch, and they take a mile"?
They realize that what's going on is more important than giving people "2 hour vacations"
They want people to wake up and understand that.

Gotta disagree here. They aren't emotionless jesters that exist for other peoples entertainment. The fact is, a material portion of these players come from neighborhoods that have torn apart recently and these players have not been able to do anything more than have catch phrases on their jersey or post to social media. Their community is too important to them to sit idle in Orlando. They are grown as men who can make a decision. I applaud them for acting on their conviction. That said, if there are any negative consequences of this, like lower salary pool for next season. I don't want to hear about it.

I fully understand where they are coming from. Maybe I'm in a minority, but I don't see them or any professional athlete having much influence on myself or the majority of the population. My reference in "Give them an inch, and they take a mile." is about operation of the league and who controls it. What they are doing right now doesn't have a huge impact on fans as the games are being played in a bubble and TBH, it doesn't appear that there are many excited about the exciting finish to this season. Wait until next season when games are played at home in front of 18K fans and one or both teams decide to protest and not play. Those people who paid for a couple of tickets for a 2-3 hour vacation won't be happy.

 

[NorthDakota]

Have players ever effectively boycott anything of substance before? Owners could just as well bring in replacement players i guess. There has only been one significant work stoppage in my life that I can remember and that was hockey shooting itself in the foot.

Basketball might be different from other sports since people seem to follow players rather than teams, but this is idiotic.

I'm sure hockey and baseball are more than happy to take the extra viewers though in the meantime.

In the meantime I'm sticking to my stupid theory that the Clippers are scared of losing to a 7 seed with a hurt superstar.

 

[NDdomer2]

This news is reaching more than NBA viewers - the headlines/publicity is what they're aiming for.

but do headlines and publicity create real change? This is what I am asking. I still am not necessarily seeing the direct line to not playing games -> cops not killing/using unnecessary force against minorities.

Players don't play, games don't happen. Games don't happen, tv commercials don't happen. TV commercials don't happen, TV networks don't get paid. TV Networks don't get paid, Owners don't get paid. Owners are big money donors to political candidates. They are "in the room" with those people. Also taking away the "circus" from the "bread and circuses", tends to annoy the voters. Large political systems don't like that.

As to your other point, players are millionaires, owners are billionaires. The difference between a millionaire and billionaire in wealth (and therefore influence) is unfathomable. Saying that players should pooling the money to help out their causes is pretty silly because 1) a lot of them are, and 2) even if you had all the players living like pious monks and giving 99% of their income to good causes, the owners could do the same amount and it be akin to me getting an extra cell phone plan.

this is maybe the closet ive seen to some sort of ripple effect. But i would argue, that all of this still doesnt mean that the billionaire is going to vote differently or spend their money on the right things. For instance the NFL has vowed to give $250m to social injustice over 10 years. so the billionaires in their unfathomable wealth and influence have decided to give 25m a year. Am i wrong in thinking all the NFL players combined are giving the same amount (in time and money). IF you agree, then you can agree that the owners arent exactly doing much comparatively to their reach compared to the players.

But I'll go back to the fact that I am not putting much hope that ~60 team owners are going to be the base of change for the country in regards to cops not killing/using unnecessary force against minorities.

I certainly applaud the athletes for doing SOMETHING. I just question if their approach of not playing is achieving their intended results?

 

[fightingirish26]

Trust the process...

The process worked. Got us Simmons and Embiid. We had a pretty bad drafting record, imagine if Okafor and Fultz didn't bust for instance. Then the league steps in and gets rid of Hinkie and then Colangelo and Brand fuck everything up.

 

[Ndaccountant]

I think some of you are missing the bigger picture. I don't think the players think they are going to get an open invite to DC or state legislatures to craft new policy.

But, where this makes a huge positive influence IMO, is the lesson it teaches. The only reason why that bubble existed in Orlando was money. The owners wanted the TV/media revenue, the players wanted their paycheck. By walking away, they are putting their personal convictions ahead of the money. They are showing that community is more important to them than anything else. That enacting change is up to the individuals to take into their own hands. I think it's an overwhelmingly positive lesson.

 

[greyhammer90]

but do headlines and publicity create real change? This is what I am asking. I still am not necessarily seeing the direct line to not playing games -> cops not killing/using unnecessary force against minorities.



this is maybe the closet ive seen to some sort of ripple effect. But i would argue, that all of this still doesnt mean that the billionaire is going to vote differently or spend their money on the right things. For instance the NFL has vowed to give $250m to social injustice over 10 years. so the billionaires in their unfathomable wealth and influence have decided to give 25m a year. Am i wrong in thinking all the NFL players combined are giving the same amount (in time and money). IF you agree, then you can agree that the owners arent exactly doing much comparatively to their reach compared to the players.

But I'll go back to the fact that I am not putting much hope that ~60 team owners are going to be the base of change for the country in regards to cops not killing/using unnecessary force against minorities.

I mean I agree I don't see much being altered because of this singular protest, but as Chris Webber pointed out last night that doesn't mean the better answer is to do nothing.

I guarantee this strike wouldn't have happened if Kap hadn't kneeled way back when. That alone should tell you that these things snowball in unexpected ways. There's no way you and I can say what the outcome of this will be.

 

[NDdomer2]

I mean I agree I don't see much being altered because of this singular protest, but as Chris Webber pointed out last night that doesn't mean the better answer is to do nothing.

I guarantee this strike wouldn't have happened if Kap hadn't kneeled way back when. That alone should tell you that these things snowball in unexpected ways. There's no way you and I can say what the outcome of this will be.

i edited before you grabbed my post. I do applaud them for doing something.

And, I just put something in an NFL thread about how this carries over to them since this started in NFL with Colin.

I certainly don't know what the outcome will be but we are essentially 4 years removed from Colin's kneel. There is some data out there that could support improvement of police treatments towards minorities, but overall I would say overall reform has not occurred. Sports world has influence no doubt, but I am not sure we are seeing it have the influence that maybe the athletes believe it does, or us as sports fans like to believe it does.

But again this could all be my lack of knowledge/understanding and the future will certainly paint the picture for us.

 

[greyhammer90]

i edited before you grabbed my post. I do applaud them for doing something.

And, I just put something in an NFL thread about how this carries over to them since this started in NFL with Colin.

I certainly don't know what the outcome will be but we are essentially 4 years removed from Colin's kneel. There is some data out there that could support improvement of police treatments towards minorities, but overall I would say overall reform has not occurred. Sports world has influence no doubt, but I am not sure we are seeing it have the influence that maybe the athletes believe it does, or us as sports fans like to believe it does.

But again this could all be my lack of knowledge/understanding and the future will certainly paint the picture for us.

I agree. Not sure this will be enough, or even have a huge effect on the eventual end result, but you don't plant a fruit tree because you want fruit that afternoon.

 

[Cackalacky2.0]

Players don't play, games don't happen. Games don't happen, tv commercials don't happen. TV commercials don't happen, TV networks don't get paid. TV Networks don't get paid, Owners don't get paid. Owners are big money donors to political candidates. They are "in the room" with those people. Also taking away the "circus" from the "bread and circuses", tends to annoy the voters. Large political systems don't like that.

As to your other point, players are millionaires, owners are billionaires. The difference between a millionaire and billionaire in wealth (and therefore influence) is unfathomable. Saying that players should pooling the money to help out their causes is pretty silly because 1) a lot of them are, and 2) even if you had all the players living like pious monks and giving 99% of their income to good causes, the owners could do the same amount and it be akin to me getting an extra cell phone plan.

Right. End all is if professional teams dont play, these leagues and every affiliates cant make money. They absolutely have power and are not just athletes. Many of these guys have their own brands and companies, are minority investors in other sports and industries and are in the public eye and can influence large swaths of people. They are not a vacation or break from reality. They are a mirror.

 

[NDdomer2]

I agree. Not sure this will be enough, or even have a huge effect on the eventual end result, but you don't plant a fruit tree because you want fruit that afternoon.

I like that analogy, but my rebuttal would be, can't you plant the fruit tree and buy the fruit for the afternoon?

Right now they are planting the tree, but deciding not to buy the fruit for the day.

Seems like there could be both and achieve same results, but again I dont know.