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The mid-NBA-playoffs boycott has concluded and the Portland Trail Blazers are getting ready to face the Los Angeles Lakers in Game 5 of their first-round series tomorrow.
As the team returns to practice, they’re assessing the actions taken over the last 48 hours, expressing pride in what NBA players have been able to accomplish through their voices and actions.
Various members of the local media have published reflections from the team this afternoon.
CJ McCollum says he voted to continue playing in the playoffs, though he would have abided by whatever decision was made by the union.
— Casey Holdahl (@CHold) August 28, 2020
CJ McCollum talking about the discussions of the last few days.
— AJ McCord (@AJ_McCord) August 28, 2020
He said if the masses had voted to go home, he would’ve been on board but he wanted to know what they’d know when they got home. How they’d go “to the front lines” and enact real change
“Without the Milwaukee Bucks deciding not to play & us deciding to stand behind them I’m not sure we have these actionable items in place.”
— AJ McCord (@AJ_McCord) August 28, 2020
CJ McCollum on the impact the last 24-48 hours have had on the league & the goals they want to accomplish
“We got together, we had conversations... Honest dialogue... Was everybody on the same page? No... But... we decided as a union to come back and play.”
— Jamie Hudson (@JamieHudsonNBCS) August 28, 2020
^^^ @carmeloanthony on the players’ decision to return to play
“I’m incredibly proud of the players for what they did... What happened in the last two days did more than just keep the [social injustice] conversations going.”
— Jamie Hudson (@JamieHudsonNBCS) August 28, 2020
— Coach Stotts
Hearing both @CJMcCollum and @carmeloanthony talk about the strike, you get the sense that mental health issues in the bubble had a significant influence on the decision along with calls for justice.
— Casey Holdahl (@CHold) August 28, 2020
"It’s time for everybody to say that enough is enough. You don’t just have to be Black to say that enough is enough." - @carmeloanthony pic.twitter.com/0MA0BIi5se
— Portland Trail Blazers (@trailblazers) August 28, 2020