NBA Season Part 2: Life In The Orlando Bubble

I don’t think the Bucks thought this through. I think they were thinking we’d stop playing for a few games and put the spotlight on the police. What could end up happening may be quite different. According to tweets from the meeting LeBron said he would go along with whatever the players decided but instead walked out along with the rest of the Lakers and Clippers. That is going to cause friction with the players who want to play. There were reports of players being pissed because the Bucks didn’t consult with any of teams. Throw in all the players at home that have no say in what could end up costing them money because of a potential lockout when negotiations for the CBA come up in Oct. This could get ugly fast and have long term implications.

 

According to the reports, most players would simply like to make a statement and then continue to play. Therefore, the LA teams should respect that. Yes, I am a Laker fan and would love for us to compete for the championship. But if they and the Clips decide to walk out, they forfeit their title aspirations and Dallas and Portland should advance. Again, if the vast majority of players want to play, let them play and compete.

I am sorry to say this, but this could end up badly for the NBA and the young players who have hopes and dreams of making it big in this league. The ratings will suffer even more, guys like Kuz and Caruso don't get anything, while players like Bron - with all due respect - don't have to play or do anything else for the rest of their lives. I don't know man, this is tricky.

Also, when it comes to basketball fans, you know who gets "punished" the most? Those who love the game and the players the most. Those who hear- and support the message. And those who didn't care much about basketball or social issues already walked away. What a mess.

 

Rating are already WAY down in the bubble. They were down as a whole before the pandemic started. If they walk out on this season, it will be like the baseball strike of the mid-90s. They will lose a lot of fans permanently. These players have massive delusions of grandeur. I'm not trying to insult them. That's just the facts. We pay attention because we are Laker and NBA fans. The reality of the situation is the games in the bubble are getting a few million viewers (a lot of them less than 2 million). That's in a country of 350 million. I also think the vast majority of the people that watch the NBA are already on their side, so their "messaging" on the backs of jerseys is preaching to the choir. Most of the people that can initiate change seem like they don't watch much sports. Who is this walk out serving? Who is it helping? The people that will get hurt from this walkout are their fans and people that already support their cause. And their cause isn't even completely pure since they are siding with an organization (BLM) that is a Marxist organization. I ask people to read the actual BLM organizations mission statement. Do research on the founders. Black Lives Matter (the saying) is great. There is NOTHING wrong with that. But the actual organization that hijacked that saying is terrible. Here is a fair and balanced article on the situation.

https://fee.org/articles/is-black-lives-matter-marxist-no-and-yes/

It's extremely hard to take the players seriously when they align themselves with a Marxist organization, and turn around and except millions of dollars from China and willfully ignore what is happening in Hong Kong. This issue, like all issues in America has become and "All or nothing" proposition. We are expected to accept everything they are saying and not question them. If you question them about China, you are lambasted. If you bring up the point about BLM (the organization) being evil, you are called racist, or in the case of the black Americans that have come to realize what the organization actually stands for, you become an Uncle Tom or sell out. If they go through with this and don't play the season, and basically punish the people that are on their side to begin with, I may be out on the NBA.

 

It was excessive force and I don't see how anyone can argue otherwise. Meanwhile, I'm glad that players protested, glad the NBA shut down the games yesterday, glad to see the Dodgers and Giants join in. I think all of it made sense and I support it.

But, I'm also relieved and happy that the players have voted to continue. I still believe as I did when they were in talks of restarting, that playing gives the highest visibility and best platform for the players' messages of reform. Shutting it down will hurt the cause in my opinion more than help. Playing and continuing to voice demand for equality and justice can reach millions through the televised media and it is so important to be heard and felt at this moment. Just my two cents.

Of course on a selfish side I want the Lakers to continue to play too as they me make happy in this awful time.

https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/29752941/nba-players-decide-resume-playoffs

 

NOTICE: Now that it looks like the playoffs will continue, we will allow the discussion of the shootings and protests to continue in this thread until the day games actually start back up again.

Once games come back this thread should be about nothing but basketball again, and any discussions about the protests, police, and shootings should be back in the politics section of the forum once again.

-Barnstable

 

There are more white people in the US than black, so the question should never be how many, it should be at what percentage do white people get killed vs black.