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Forums - Sports Discussion - 2022 NBA Offseason - Rest in Peace Bill Russell

Chris Hu said:
I think the Heat have a decent chance in eliminating the Bucks in the next round that extra days rest doesn't hurt either. The Celtics will have a slight edge againt the Raptors early in the series since Lowrey could miss some games.

I had Celtics coming out of the east, but without Hayward they may struggle to pass the Raptors. I don't see Heat giving Bucks too many issues.



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Shaunodon said:
Chris Hu said:
I think the Heat have a decent chance in eliminating the Bucks in the next round that extra days rest doesn't hurt either. The Celtics will have a slight edge againt the Raptors early in the series since Lowrey could miss some games.

I had Celtics coming out of the east, but without Hayward they may struggle to pass the Raptors. I don't see Heat giving Bucks too many issues.

The Heat are a better defensive team and they have a better head coach people sure like to forget that Spoelstra has two titles.



Chris Hu said:
Shaunodon said:

I had Celtics coming out of the east, but without Hayward they may struggle to pass the Raptors. I don't see Heat giving Bucks too many issues.

The Heat are a better defensive team and they have a better head coach people sure like to forget that Spoelstra has two titles.

Mate, if I coached a team with D-Wade, Bosh, Ray Allen and prime LeBron, I'd have two titles too. They also do not have a better defense than the Bucks.



Shaunodon said:
Chris Hu said:

The Heat are a better defensive team and they have a better head coach people sure like to forget that Spoelstra has two titles.

Mate, if I coached a team with D-Wade, Bosh, Ray Allen and prime LeBron, I'd have two titles too. They also do not have a better defense than the Bucks.

Those stats are pretty much meaningless since playoff basketball is a whole different animal then the regular season.  Also Spoelstra was one of the key assistant coaches when the Heat won the title in 2006 so actually he has tree rings but people like to forget that also.



The Milwaukee Bucks are refusing to take the court for Game 5 as an act of protest over the shooting of Jacob Blake.



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This is a landmark moment right here. Donald Sterling is child’s play compared to this.


How the rest of the teams, the rest of the league, the owners, and Adam Silver respond to this will seriously impact the political and civil landscape of this country. A lot will be riding on their next move.
One thing is for sure: The era/fantasy of keeping sports out of politics/civil issues and vice-versa are over.

Edit: We have the teams’ answers. The NBA and NBAPA released a joint statement. All 3 playoff games that were scheduled for today have been postponed in support of the Bucks’ decision to protest. 

Last edited by PAOerfulone - on 26 August 2020

PAOerfulone said:

This is a landmark moment right here. Donald Sterling is child’s play compared to this.


How the rest of the teams, the rest of the league, the owners, and Adam Silver respond to this will seriously impact the political and civil landscape of this country. A lot will be riding on their next move.
One thing is for sure: The era/fantasy of keeping sports out of politics/civil issues and vice-versa are over.

No one outside of the state of Wisconsin is a bigger Bucks fan than me. These past two years have been the greatest run of success my Bucks have ever had in my active fandom (I was born around the time of their 80s success and became a fan in the 90s). Never in my lifetime have I ever been able to realistically dream of celebrating a title until now.

With that being said, I am a black man first. I am a black man whose stomach churns every time I see a white person with a badge and/or gun, who has stared down the the barrel of rifles and handguns being pointed at the heads of myself and my loved ones just from being pulled over for speeding, and who has seen and heard a lot of shit in my time that would never fly now if it was caught on camera.

The Bucks have given me very little to be proud of in the more than quarter century of my fandom, but they've given me a lot of proud moments in the past few years. And I have never been more behind the team than right now. This is my proudest moment as a fan.

My understanding is that the Rockets and Thunder (OKC is my sidechick - I'm from Oklahoma) are preparing to do the same.

Don't fucking tell them to stick to sports, or to shut up and dribble. They aren't your slaves, and they owe you nothing. This is bigger than sports.



Chris Hu said:
Shaunodon said:

Mate, if I coached a team with D-Wade, Bosh, Ray Allen and prime LeBron, I'd have two titles too. They also do not have a better defense than the Bucks.

Those stats are pretty much meaningless since playoff basketball is a whole different animal then the regular season.  Also Spoelstra was one of the key assistant coaches when the Heat won the title in 2006 so actually he has tree rings but people like to forget that also.

So when you're making a point in your favor, it means something, but when someone else points out something factually correct, the stats are now meaningless? Funny how that works.

Spoelstra wasn't the one making lineup decisions, drawing plays, controlling minutes and rotations and having the overall final say in any decisions on the fly in crucial games in 2006. If we counted the rings of every assistant coach who has ever been on a title team, there'd be far more prominent names than Eric Spoelstra.



I wrote from the hip earlier, but I've had a little more time to calm down and express myself a little further.
You've seen the jerseys, courts and other things plastered with BLM slogans. You've seen the vignettes from players and coaches as well. It's a nice gesture, but it feels more like a PR-stunt and marketing campaign than anything.
But this right here is real. This is an active demonstration; a defiance. Money, ratings, betting lines, contracts, championship aspirations: all these are on the line. Some people would have you believe that players just care about money and branding. But this demonstrates that there are bigger things than contracts, shoe sales, and even rings.
Like I said earlier, my Bucks a strong title contenders, and have as good a chance as anybody to win the whole damn thing. But a man's kids had to watch their father get shot in the back and paralyzed for attempting to break up a dispute. And it happened in their backyard.
You probably haven't ever heard of Sterling Brown or John Henson, but I recommend you take a quick moment to look up some of their experiences in being black in Wisconsin:
"On January 26, 2018, at 2 a.m., Brown was approached by a Milwaukee police officer because his car was straddling two handicapped parking spaces. This occurred in a nearly empty Walgreens parking lot on the south end of the city, the intersection of South 27th street and National Ave. After Brown interacted with the officer, who requested backup, a number of officers arrived on scene. Several minutes after the first officer began talking with Brown, an officer yelled at Brown to remove his hands from the pockets of his hoodie.[19][20] Brown responded, "I’ve got stuff in my hands".[20] He was subsequently tackled to the ground and tased. Brown was arrested on suspicion of resisting arrest, but the case was not referred to prosecutors after an internal review.[21][19]"
"Milwaukee Bucks center John Henson alleged last week that he was a victim of racial discrimination by Schwanke-Kasten Jewelers in Whitefish Bay, Wisconsin when he attempted to shop at the store to buy a new Rolex. The newly-released audio of the store's 911 call, via The Root, lends some credence to Henson's accusations."
Brown is still an active player on the Bucks roster and has taken the court within these playoffs. There is precedence for the players to not only support the black population of the state, but there is the fact that one of their very own has been a victim of police brutality that went unchecked. Are you going to tell him to shut up and dribble? Can you tell him to stick to sports?


Now the MLB is following suit.
Brewers-Reds, Mariners-Padres, and Giants-Dodgers have all been postponed.