Celtics, Raptors still considering boycott, other options heading into Game 1

The Celtics and Raptors continued their final preparations for Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals on Wednesday afternoon. However, whether that game will be played as scheduled remains to be seen — as the possibility of a boycott remained for Game 1. Players from both teams confirmed they met together on Tuesday night to discuss the situation as a group and those talks are continuing, according to All-Star forward Jayson Tatum, in response to the shooting of Jacob Blake.

“It’s an active discussion,” Tatum said after practice on Wednesday. “Obviously it started with the Raptors and obviously that’s who we’re playing. It’s been talked about with other guys on other teams. People are upset or angry and we’re just trying to come together and figure out a way how we can do something.

“Obviously people are going to say, ‘Well, what is sitting out going to do?’ Obviously if we sit out a game or the rest of the playoffs, we understand how big of an impact that will have. Everybody’s going to have to talk about it, continue to raise awareness. We don’t want to just keep playing and forget about what’s going on in the outside world, because it’s affecting us. It’s affecting everybody. We’re more than just basketball players; we’re people. And we have these raw emotions and feelings.”

While players from both sides plan to meet again today before making a decision about a collaborative plan for Game 1, Tatum knows that each individual will have to make their own choice about suiting up.

“We’re trying to figure that out today,” Tatum said on whether the game will be played as scheduled Thursday. “If certain guys, certain individuals make their own decisions, that’s perfectly fine. Everybody is entitled to feel how they feel and act upon how they want to act. Nobody is going to be judge one way or another.”

Brad Stevens has held multiple meetings with his players this week after the shooting so feelings could be shared about the situation. However, he has not gotten an indication from the team yet that they won’t play on Thursday night.

“I haven’t heard a lot of talk from our team about necessarily not playing,” Stevens said. “I know that everybody’s affected and everybody’s emotional. And rightfully so. And we support them. That’s it.”

Stevens continued: “We’ve had a couple of different meetings. We’ve talked about how we feel. We’ve talked about just generally where everybody is. And I simply said each individual, we support 110 percent. This is not easy from the standpoint of being down here and feeling like you’re in this place that you can’t leave – as you guys know that are here. I totally understand anybody’s reaction to what’s going on outside of here and the desire to do more, or the desire to not play, or the desire to leave. It’s totally up to the individual and we’re here to support them.”

Social justice issues have been at the forefront of the NBA restart in Orlando. (Update: The Bucks elected to boycott their Game 5 against the Magic on Wednesday afternoon.)

Grant Williams wouldn’t reveal the details of the players' discussions about potential responses, but did indicate the teams are exploring options about doing something which wouldn’t necessarily involve a boycott.

“I can't say I can share that right now just in terms of all the things we are thinking of,” Williams said. “However, we do know the importance of the platform that we have and we do know that we have power enough to not only trickle down things on teams and our owners but also on our communities. That's kind of how this world works. We have the platform in which when we speak up, people listen. That's really what we are focused on and what we're trying to communicate to one another.”

“Really, all we can hope and try to do is (enact) change,” Williams added. “That’s something that we’ve always strived for. We started with the kneeling. We’re hoping that would send a message. It sent a message, but then, as that message gets pushed out, they stop showing us. Now, it’s more so about what can we do next to show not only that we’re involved but also show that we really care and that it saddens us to see nothing’s changing. There’s something that has to happen.”

Other Series Notes

--Kyle Lowry did not practice for the Raptors today and his status remains unclear for Game 1 after suffering a sprained ankle earlier this week in Game 4 of the Raptors-Nets series.

--Celtics rookie Javonte Green will be out for the entire series after undergoing surgery on Tuesday to repair a torn meniscus. He will re-join the Celtics in the bubble soon, but he will not be able to return to basketball activities for 2-3 weeks, leaving his availability for the remainder of the postseason in doubt. Look for Carsen Edwards to remain on the 13-man active roster in his place.