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Thursday's NBA Eastern Conference series Game 1 between the Boston Celtics and Toronto Raptors could potentially be cancelled due to a planned boycott. Gamblers should be made aware of what happens to their bet should this occur.
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NBA players plan to protest the police shooting of Jacob Blake Sunday in Kenosha, Wisconsin. Blake was shot in the back while his children looked on.
"The players are deeply disappointed that the same thing happens again in a relatively short timeframe," Raptors coach Nick Nurse said Wednesday, referring to the killing of George Floyd by police three months ago. "They want to be part of the solution. They want to help. They want justice. They want this particular problem to be handled in a much better way. That's the first thing.
"Boycotting the game has come up for them as a way to try to demand a little more action. That's really what they want. I think there's enough attention and not quite enough action, and that's what I can sense from the discussions, is their disappointment. Like, 'Man, how can we get something to change, like now?' We need something to change, not just attention on the problem. We need a plan of action."
Players from the Celtics and Raptors held a players-only meeting Tuesday night to discuss the possibility of a boycott and other measures, and are planning to meet again Wednesday night to further discuss the matter.
There is now a true sense of frustration among players around the league about the fact that incidents like the shooting of Blake on Sunday continue to happen.
"Really, all we can hope and try to do is impact change," Celtics forward Grant Williams said Wednesday. "That's something that have we always strived for, and we started with the kneeling. We were hoping that would send a message and it sent a message, but then as that message gets pushed out, then they stopped showing us.
"So, now, it's more so about what can we do next to not only show that we're not only involved, but also show that we really care and that it saddens us to see nothing's changing. And there's something that has to happen. And that's part of the discussions and creative ways of how we can create change, and how we can not only be there for those who are for experiencing tough trials, like the Blake family right now and not only support them, but also show their stores, send their message out to the communities that show how this world is and how we can can hopefully get better and improve as a society. Not one by one, but hopefully as a whole."
To this point, only the Celtics and Raptors have even broached the topic of potentially not playing. Three Game 5's -- between the Milwaukee Bucks and Orlando Magic, Oklahoma City Thunder and Houston Rockets, and Los Angeles Lakers and Portland Trail Blazers -- are scheduled to take place later Wednesday, as are Game 6's between the Denver Nuggets and Utah Jazz, as well as the LA Clippers and Dallas Mavericks, in addition to the start of the Boston-Toronto series.
- Tyrone Black, Gambling911.com
