Boston Celtics: 3 potential side effects of game-five boycotts

Though it started as just a whisper with the Boston Celtics and Toronto Raptors boycotting game-one, many other teams still in the first-round have pulled the trigger.

Yesterday it was rumored that game-one of the Eastern Conference’s Semifinals series between the Boston Celtics and Toronto Raptors could be postponed in order to shed more light on the most recent example of unnecessary excessive force by a law-enforcement officer on an unarmed black American in Jacob Blake.

Today, more teams joined in on the idea in search of justice.

Right before tip-off for game-five between the Bucks and Magic, ESPN analyst Adrian Wojnarowski broke the news that Milwaukee would be boycotting the exhibition.

Soon after, the remaining teams scheduled for today’s slate of games followed suit.

Sitting here, I find myself shaking in despair. Seemingly since the turn of the decade, we have found ourselves waking every morning wondering how things can possibly get any worse.

Somehow, like how the sun always rises, so too do 2020’s catastrophes.

Though the Civil Rights movement took place over 50 years ago, racial inequality appears to be just as prevalent today as it was when Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. took to the steps of the Lincoln Memorial.

Now, after 400 years of racism, brutality, and injustice in this country, it’s beyond the time to scream it from the rooftops: enough is enough!

In response to the long line of recent horrific acts on civilians heavily influenced by the color of their skin, it appears as though the league and its players will create a proverbial moment of silence with today’s game cancelations.

Unsure of how long their boycott will last, the world of NBA basketball and, frankly, society could be awaiting quite a few changeups in the coming days, weeks, months.

Potential boycott side-effect No. 1) Burst of the bubble

The NBA proved that, even in the time of COVID, professional sports could still live on.

Thanks to the implementation of proper CDC guidelines, fans got to see their favorite teams — for us, the Boston Celtics — once again take to the hardwood in an attempt to compete for the 2020 Larry O’Brien trophy.

In such an unprecedented time as this, with live basketball back on our television screens, the feeling of normalcy began to seep back into our everyday lives, if only just a bit.

In short, the Disney bubble was booming.

However, with injustice still being served on what seems to be a daily basis, players are now starting to feel as though the words “Black Lives Matter” being placed centerfold on the court and social messages embroidered on the back of their jerseys just simply is not enough.

Though as of this moment it is only reported to be a one-day affair of game cancellations, don’t be surprised to see a trickle-down effect come into play for the ensuing days and games to come.

While we’d sorely miss the sport, in the end, there are far more important things in the world than basketball.

Potential boycott side-effect No. 2) NBA lockout

We’ve seen it before, and we can see it again. Four-times in league history we have seen the NBA go through what is referred to as a “lockout”, most recently during the 2011-12 season in which it managed to last for a total of eight-months and, thus, shortening the season to just 66 games.

Lockouts are generally caused by a discrepancy in how finances should be handled between the league’s team owners and players.

With the COVID-19 induced hiatus that took away more than four months worth of games from the 2019-20 regular season (March 12th – July 30th), there was already concern over how the league’s salary cap would be effected once this year’s campaign climaxes and heads into 2020-21.

Should the rest of the season be canceled, the league’s finances would take an even greater hit which, without a doubt, will stir up controversy moving forward between both the NBA and the NBPA (National Basketball Players Association).

Having no fans in the crowd already had a negative impact on the league’s salary-cap situation. That said, luckily they were still managing to make some profits from television deals.

No more games, however, would indefinitely sink the league’s finances into uncharted territory which very easily could trigger the NBA’s fifth lockout.

Potential boycott side-effect No. 3) Strong figures fight for equality

Prior to the resumption of the 2019-20 NBA season, high-profile stars including the likes of Giannis Antetokounmpo, Bradley Beal, Jaylen Brown, Marcus Smart, and so many others found themselves marching on the streets alongside fed-up civilians in search for change, peace, and justice for all Americans.

Preaching the true sentiments of “Black Lives Matter” and “No Justice, No Peace”, the presence of these noteworthy names brought even more attention to the already captivating movement that finds itself spread across our nation and, frankly, the world.

Should the season be officially canceled, and all players be approved to leave the Disney bubble, it would come as no surprise to anyone here at the Houdini that these same players and then some would make their ways back to the streets in search for racial equality.

With the ample free time they would have, however, the fight would not just stop there.

Despite some ignorant individuals’ pleas for players to, quote, “shut up and dribble”, they have every right to speak their minds, just like all other citizens have the right to do.

Unlike every other citizen, however, these athletes have the platform to have their voices heard from the masses.

The fight for social justice is nothing new in the NBA. Iconic figures such as Bill Russell and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar found themselves using their brains and celebrity-status to pave the way for change back in the mid-1960s, well before the idea of social media.

With this, to say players in today’s age would have as great, if not an even greater of outreach — with players like LeBron James, Kevin Durant, and Russell Westbrook — would be a true understatement.

The time for change is now and, with the platform in which professional athletes such as NBA players possess, it can be more attainable than ever should the work be put in.

Enough is enough!