The NBA on Thursday postponed its playoff games for the second day in a row, including Game 6 between the Nuggets and Jazz, as the league and its players search for the appropriate response following Sunday’s police shooting of Jacob Blake in Kenosha, Wis.
The official announcement came less than two hours before the Nuggets’ 2 p.m. MT tip-off.
“We are hopeful to resume games either Friday or Saturday,” NBA spokesman Mike Bass said in a statement.
The statement also said there was a video conference scheduled for Thursday afternoon including player and governor representatives from the 13 teams still in Orlando, the players’ association, the league office, and NBA Labor Relations Committee Chairman Michael Jordan to “discuss next steps.”
Nuggets players spent Thursday meeting with each other and processing all that had happened over the last day and a half, according to a team source. There were no formal team activities, and team officials were awaiting clarity on when Game 6 would be re-scheduled. It’s possible the team could practice Friday and speak to the media.
Nuggets coach Michael Malone said Wednesday morning that he couldn’t envision any coach would “stand in anybody’s way” if they wanted to not play playoff games. For months, Malone has said that the Nuggets’ mission in Orlando was two-fold: playing basketball and addressing social justice reform.
“It is frustrating for a lot of players, for a lot of coaches to be here, but I don’t think anybody thought by coming down to the bubble and wearing a T-shirt and talking about it and painting something on a court was going to end things across this country,” Malone said. “This has been happening for hundreds of years, and that’s why whenever we talk about this change that we all want, the key word is we have to have sustained change. … This is not going to happen overnight.”
Nuggets forward Michael Porter Jr. said on Wednesday how difficult it was to balance basketball while acknowledging the social movement outside the bubble.
All of Wednesday’s games were postponed after the Milwaukee Bucks refused to take the court for their Game 5 against the Orlando Magic. The NBA announced that all the respective Game 5s would be rescheduled.
“Over the last few days in our home state of Wisconsin, we’ve seen the horrendous video of Jacob Blake being shot in the back seven times by a police officer in Kenosha, and the additional shooting of protesters,” the Bucks said in a statement after several hours inside their locker room Wednesday. “Despite the overwhelming plea for change, there has been no action, so our focus today cannot be on basketball.”
Players and coaches took part in an emotional meeting Wednesday night, where players on the Lakers and the Clippers voted to discontinue the season, according to ESPN.
More meetings were scheduled for Thursday morning, including one involving the league’s Board of Governors.
