Breonna Taylor and the NBA Playoffs: Collapsing the Distance Between the Game and Life

“It’s frustrating. It’s been 194 days and still no justice. Still fighting for the same thing. It was a lot to process. It was a tough day. Tough day for all of us.”

Above, Jayson Tatum of the Boston Celtics, responding to a question about the impact of the Breonna Taylor verdict on the day of September 23rd.

Jayson Tatum of the Boston Celtics, with his two year-old Deuce, in February.

Here we are after Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Finals. The air hasn’t seeped out of this Orlando NBA bubble. Four teams remain. The Miami Heat took a 3–1 lead over the Boston Celtics last night. As many have noted, the Celtics could just as easily be up 3–1 as down 3–1. No lead is safe in the NBA anymore. Games swing in a matter of seconds. A turnover leads to a transition three-pointer. A missed corner 3 leads to a layup on the other end. Just a few possessions and a 14-point lead is down to 6. No lead is safe.

And what all thinking and caring human beings who love basketball might also finally recognize fully…no black American is safe, not in the United States of 2020, not…