A week has passed since the Celtics and Raptors finished four-game sweeps in their first-round playoff series.
After a brief break, the teams were scheduled to start their conference semifinals matchup on Thursday. Then the NBA was once again shuttered when players unified in protest following the police shooting of Jacob Blake in Wisconsin. Now, Boston and Toronto will try to regroup and refocus and get back to basketball, all while continuing to move the social justice movement forward. After the Raptors practiced on Saturday, coach Nick Nurse acknowledged that it wasn’t always pretty.
“It felt like another restart almost,” he said. “It’s like you haven’t played a game for a while and now you haven’t practiced for a while and you go back and you’re just working on passing and catching the ball and dribbling a little bit and just kind of getting the cobwebs out, and I think it took a while, to be honest with you. It took almost I’d say half, or three-fourths of a practice before it felt like we kind of were moving OK and were zeroed in on basketball a little bit.”
When Nurse’s description of the stumbles was relayed to Celtics coach Brad Stevens on Saturday afternoon, he seemed relieved.
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“Yeah, that makes me feel better,” he said, “because we were about the same way. I think that’s just part of it.”
Stevens said he does not think conditioning or rust will be much of an issue when Game 1 tips off Sunday. Even though the Celtics have not held many full practices during the hiatus, they have remained active. A week away shouldn’t erase what got them to this point.
But there are lingering questions about how the current climate could be affecting players mentally. In addition to being isolated in Orlando since mid-July, away from friends and family, the past week has taken an emotional toll on many in the Orlando bubble.
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“But it’s a challenge that I willingly signed up for,” Celtics forward Jaylen Brown said. “We’ve got to keep pushing that line. We’ve got to keep demanding justice. We’ve got to hold people accountable. We’ve got to hold the police accountable.”
From leading a peaceful protest in Georgia following the death of George Floyd to being an important voice in Orlando during meetings about social justice and systemic racism, Brown has been the Celtics’ most vocal leader during this historic time.
The Bucks declined to play Game 5 of their playoff series against the Magic on Wednesday, leading to a ripple effect that spread through the NBA and then across the sports world.
Some NBA players were a bit frustrated the Bucks hadn’t consulted with others in the league before deciding to sit, but Brown stood up for them in a players’ meeting on Thursday and reiterated that stance in his media session Saturday.
“I commend what the Milwaukee Bucks did,” Brown said. “We all see its effect, and the awareness that it rose, and in hindsight, we’re going to appreciate Milwaukee for doing that. All of us have been here, all of us came down here with a platform that we wanted to use, and nothing has changed in the outside world. So Milwaukee, what they did, I understand it. It could be done again, if necessary.”
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Stevens said the players’ decision to pause games this past week was done well, and that it offered an important time for reflection and discussion.
“But that’s not going to mean you just walk back on the court and you’re excited about doing a shell drill,” he said. “That’s not the way it works, right? So ultimately I think we all understand that, but we’re going to do our best to be prepared for tomorrow, as is every other team. And when the ball gets tipped off, it’ll hopefully be fun to watch.”
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Raptors All-Star point guard Kyle Lowry, who is recovering from a sprained ankle, took part in Saturday’s practice and is questionable for Sunday’s game. Gordon Hayward (ankle), Javonte Green (knee), and Tremont Waters (knee) are all out for the Celtics.
Adam Himmelsbach can be reached at adam.himmelsbach@globe.com. Follow him on Twitter @adamhimmelsbach.
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Celtics, Raptors try to restart and refocus before Game 1 of series on Sunday - The Boston Globe
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