Sports - NBA Discussion Thread #32 - Page 3

**canflam** · 04-25-2019, 05:01 PM

Another terrific game was yesterday between the Clippers & Warriors. The Clippers won by the score of 129-121. Tough loss by the Jazz to end their season. Donovan Mitchell struggled a lot with his shot yesterday. If he made a few more baskets, his team would've won I think. Hope that the Spurs pull off this win today vs. Denver to get a game 7.

Logan · 04-25-2019, 06:42 PM

NBA lost a legend tonight
Boston Celtics legend 8 time NBA world champion John Havlicek has passed away

**canflam** · 04-26-2019, 03:47 PM

Sad news. Wish his family well.

The Clippers & Warriors play game 6 tonight. The Spurs won vs. Denver yesterday to force a game 7. Boston will play vs. Milwaukee on Sunday. Tip-off for that game will be just after 10:00 A.M. Pacific Time & 1:00 P.M. Eastern.

***NikNak*** · 04-26-2019, 08:37 PM

Aww. Sad news.

Enjoy the games tonight if you watch.

**canflam** · 04-27-2019, 04:04 PM

Well, yesterday I didn't watch the Clippers/Wariors game as it was a blowout that Golden St. won. Of note Lou Williams made only 3 of 21 Field Goal attempts in his team's loss yesterday. By doing that he set an NBA Playoff record for most missed FG attempts a player coming off the bench in the game. he made only 3 of 21 total FG attempts yesterday. The Clippers did have an impressive season though. Hopefully Toronto gets game 1 later.

**canflam** · 05-02-2019, 04:10 PM

Man, I am so pissed about Turkey & their horrible government. Here's what I mean: Kanter draws support of union after drawing jeers

The National Basketball Players Association issued a statement Thursday in support of Enes Kanter after the Turkish big man took to social media to call out mistreatment from Denver Nuggets fans and the NBA Turkey Twitter account.

"The National Basketball Players Association fully supports our players using their platforms to stand up for their beliefs and the principles they support. We stand with Enes and, as with all of our players, will work to ensure that he is treated fairly and with respect."

After playing a vital role in the Portland Trail Blazers' Game 2 win over the Nuggets on Wednesday, center Kanter was curiously left out of a tweet by the NBA Turkey Twitter account referencing the top performers from the game. Kanter took notice, tweeting his frustration following the game.

What a messed up country lead by #TurkishDictator @RTErdogan
Only Turkish player out here tonight, and the official @NBA for Turkey @NBAturkiye is censoring me. They dont show blazers games in Turkey. The government controls people,this a problem. How can official NBA allow this pic.twitter.com/Zvny0NwF8C
— Enes Kanter (@Enes_Kanter) May 2, 2019

Kanter also responded Thursday on Twitter to a heckle from a Nuggets fan during Game 2. After a brief altercation near the end of the game where Kanter and Gary Harris were assessed technical fouls, the crowd chanted "Kanter sucks!" with one fan yelling "Go back to Turkey, oh wait, you can't!"

wish I could go back to Turkey to see Family 😔
But I chose to support Democracy, Freedom and Human rights,
I am grateful for most Americans supporting that right. @nuggets take control of your fans.
This is hurtful 💔
Be grateful for the Democracy and Freedom we have here

— Enes Kanter (@Enes_Kanter

In a statement Thursday, the NBA said fans in Turkey could still watch Kanter and the Trail Blazers on NBA League Pass and NBA TV International, and that the league had ended its deal with NBA Turkey Twitter.

"The NBA Turkey Twitter account was managed by a local vendor, and we are terminating that relationship," NBA deputy commissioner and COO Mark Tatum said in the news release.

Kanter is effectively banned from returning to his home country and has a warrant out for his arrest in Turkey. In January, officials in Istanbul were seeking a "red notice" through Interpol, asking law enforcement to detain and hand Kanter over to Turkish authorities. Kanter is an outspoken critic of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and a supporter of Muslim cleric Fethullah Gulen, whom the Turkish government considers the leader of a terrorist organization.

In Turkey, Kanter's Twitter account has been banned for the last couple of years, and games he plays in have been censored as well. Game 2 against the Nuggets was initially on the schedule to be shown on S Sport Cable Network, which did not end up airing the game.

Kanter's issue with Turkey dates to 2017 when the government cancelled his passport and sought an arrest warrant. Kanter has a green card, but because of the issues with his safety and passport, did not travel to London in January when he was with the Knicks, or to Toronto in February as a member of the Blazers.

Wednesday's incident isn't the first time Kanter has been part of a social media controversy involving his issues with Turkey. Last December, the NBA Europe Instagram put up a post "celebrating the best Turkish talent in the NBA," and had three players shown: Ersan Ilyasova, Cedi Osman and Furkan Korkmaz.

Kanter tweeted about the omission, saying, "Scared to put my name up there lol... U scared little rats." Kanter received an apology from the NBA, and a personal apology from commissioner Adam Silver.

The NBA Europe account put up a corrected post soon after including Kanter, with an apology. Kanter tweeted, "Apology accepted."

**canflam** · 05-04-2019, 01:28 PM

Well guys, the Blazers & Nuggets played yesterday a 4 overtime game that appeared like Denver was going to win I think in the 3rd overtime & the Blazers came back. The final score was 140-137. The only other NBA playoff game to have 4 overtimes was in 1953 between the Boston Celtics & Syracuse which in that game had 106 fouls called & players fought each other. If you stayed up to see this game yesterday, impressive, especially if you're not in the Pacific Time Zone as the game ended after 11:00 P.M. Pacific Time. Incredible stuff.

Make Them Laugh · 05-05-2019, 10:00 AM

go glad Houston won last Saturday night

I'm rooting for Nuggets...they've been down through the years... and deserve a shot at NBA Finals

***NikNak*** · 05-06-2019, 10:38 AM

That 4 time OT game! What a game it was.

**jediwands** · 05-06-2019, 03:20 PM

Some great games this evening. I can't wait!

**canflam** · 05-06-2019, 03:59 PM

Just because they've been ''down'' over the years doesn't mean necessarily that they deserve to be in the NBA finals anymore than any other NBA team currently in the playoffs. Usually a Finals spot is earned. The Nuggets do have a healthy Jokic though while Portland is missing Nurkic, which is proving to be key as the Nuggets have gotten a bunch of offensive rebounds in this series, while Kanter has a separated shoulder. The Nuggets are talented enough to make it to the NBA Finals certainly, though the same could be said I think for any of the remaining 8 teams. Great win by the Raptors yesterday. Hopefully the Rockets will do the same today. In the West I'd rather Portland or Denver make the Finals this year, but time will tell of course.