NBA to resume playoffs Saturday. What does it mean for Heat? And a look at past 48 hours
The Miami Heat and the rest of the NBA spent Thursday away from the basketball court as they engaged in important conversations around the league’s Disney campus. There were no playoff games from Wednesday through Friday, with players protesting the shooting of Jacob Blake by police in Wisconsin earlier this week.
Ultimately, players decided to continue the season and the Heat returned to practice Friday morning in preparation for the start of the second round of the playoffs. The NBA announced games will resume Saturday, with the Heat still waiting to learn which team it will face in the next round.
Miami and several other teams canceled their post-practice media sessions Friday morning as they awaited a formal statement from the NBA and National Basketball Players Association on the plan to move forward, which was released later that afternoon. Friday was the Heat’s first practice since Wednesday’s afternoon session was followed by the boycott of games.
The expectation is coach Erik Spoelstra and Heat players will speak to the media following Saturday’s practice.
The conversation inside the bubble continues to be about what can be done collectively by players, coaches, league officials and owners to advance social change.
After players voted to continue the season during a meeting Thursday morning, a group of NBA players met with team owners on a video conference call later that afternoon to discuss what more could be done to combat social injustices.
The NBA and NBPA’s joint statement issued Friday afternoon outlined the “next steps to further our collective efforts and actions in support of social justice and racial equality”:
▪ “The NBA and its players have agreed to immediately establish a social justice coalition, with representatives from players, coaches and governors, that will be focused on a broad range of issues, including increasing access to voting, promoting civic engagement, and advocating for meaningful police and criminal justice reform.”
▪ “In every city where the league franchise owns and controls the arena property, team governors will continue to work with local elections officials to convert the facility into a voting location for the 2020 general election to allow for a safe in-person voting option for communities vulnerable to COVID.” Spoelstra revealed recently the Heat has petitioned the city of Miami to use AmericanAirlines Arena as a voting site for the upcoming elections.
▪ “The league will work with the players and our network partners to create and include advertising spots in each NBA playoff game dedicated to promoting greater civic engagement in national and local elections and raising awareness around voter access and opportunity.”
What set off this chain of events inside the league’s bubble?
The Milwaukee Bucks chose not to play Game 5 of their playoff series against the Orlando Magic on Wednesday in the wake of the recent police shooting of Blake, an unarmed Black man, in Kenosha, Wisconsin. The Bucks never left the locker room before their scheduled game on the Disney campus, as players were upset and frustrated over the shooting of Blake that occurred just about 40 miles away from where they play their home games.
The other two playoff games scheduled for Wednesday — Game 5 of the Oklahoma City Thunder-Houston Rockets series and Game 5 of the Lakers-Portland Trail Blazers series — were subsequently postponed. In the end, all playoff games scheduled from Wednesday through Friday were postponed.
A three-hour meeting Wednesday and a fairly quick meeting Thursday morning led to the players’ decision to continue playing while using the NBA playoffs as a platform to spread their message throughout the country.
But, as expected, these important conversations among players included some tense moments. Veteran Heat forwards Andre Iguodala, who is the NBPA first vice president, and Udonis Haslem were among those who spoke during the players meetings.
According to Chris Haynes from Yahoo Sports, Haslem was one of the more vocal participants in Wednesday’s meeting and “stated that it was irresponsible and selfish for an established veteran to suggest that everyone should go home because younger players haven’t accumulated the wealth for such a drastic action.”
Haynes also reported that “Haslem pressed [LeBron] James and asked the star what he planned to do, reminding him that he’s the face of the league and it goes as he goes” before James walked out of the meeting. The Los Angeles Lakers and Los Angeles Clippers were the only two teams of the 13 still in the bubble to vote against completing the playoffs during Wednesday’s meeting.
Haslem was also among those who intervened when Clippers guard Patrick Beverley interrupted Michele Roberts, the executive director of the players’ union. Haynes reported: “Roberts asked politely if she could continue with her point, and Beverley responded, ‘No, I pay your salary,’” and this prompted Haslem and other players to make clear disrespect would not be tolerated.
A league source confirmed those anecdotes and said Haslem was a very vocal participant in Wednesday’s meeting. Haslem, 40, is the oldest player inside the bubble.
As for Iguodala, Haynes reported Iguodala was among the veterans who “worked around the clock” to find a resolution.
During an appearance on CNN in the wake of players boycotting playoff games, Iguodala was asked to respond to President Donald Trump calling the NBA a political organization.
“Well, when your people are being treated the way our people have been treated for hundreds of years, it’s not a political organization or a political agenda,” Iguodala said during the CNN interview. “It’s human organization, it’s a human agenda. That’s where we stand on that.
“And that’s why, we say it comes at a point in time where we might have taken a pause in the entertainment business to shed light upon these experiences that we’re witnessing through the technology and through the devices that are in one’s hands, and supposed to be a part of the process of holding people accountable for their wrongful actions.”
The playoff pause means an even longer break for the Heat after completing a first-round sweep of the Indiana Pacers on Monday. Miami’s second-round series had been expected to begin as early as Sunday before the playoffs were put on hold, but now it will not begin until Monday at the earliest.
The Heat will play the winner of the Bucks-Magic series in the next round, with Milwaukee holding a 3-1 lead in the best-of-7 series. Game 5 of Milwaukee’s series against Orlando is set for Saturday at 3:30 p.m.
If the Bucks win Saturday and eliminate the Magic, the NBA announced Game 1 of a potential second-round series between Miami and Milwaukee would be Monday at either 4 or 6:30 p.m on TNT.
With the Heat completing a first-round sweep of Indiana on Monday, it will have at least a week off from game action before beginning the next series. That time should help Miami, with Jimmy Butler dealing with a strained left shoulder that limited him in Game 4 against the Pacers and Jae Crowder nursing a sprained left ankle he played through in the first round.
The Heat arrived at the NBA’s Disney campus on July 8, with players, coaches and staff isolated in the quarantine bubble for the past seven weeks. Friends and family of players still competing in the playoffs are allowed to enter and join them inside the bubble at the start of the second round.
This story was originally published August 28, 2020 at 1:04 PM.
