- There are no players on the floor.
The clock hit zero.
[Tape rewinding]
- [Pilot:] Welcome to Orlando.
The local time is 10:33.
- The NBA playoffs have arrived!
[players laughing]
- [Jae Crowder:] Thank you.
Appreciate it, man.
- ♪ And I can be ready ♪
They playing the jams.
- [Jimmy Butler:] Goran don't got his mask on, NBA.
- [Paul George:] Y'all late. Come on, Taylor.
- Next time I'll be on time.
- Be on time.
- So luckily playoffs are underway,
and while the games are fun,
there are a couple series
that look like they have the potential
to end up being some sweeps.
Get out the brooms, folks.
Alrighty.
Headed to Sixers-Celtics,
Game 1 for them.
- Hey, Jayson.
We wish we were there
in the bubble with you
to support you,
but now that you have our
1,000 percent support from home,
one, two, three.
- [Both:] Good luck!
[shoes squeaking]
[upbeat festive music]
[crowd cheering]
- [Announcer:] Jaylen Brown!
- Gordon Hayward
went down with an injury
in Game 1 against the Sixers.
After the game, Brad Stevens
said it was a sprained ankle.
- Sprained ankle.
Don't know the severity,
but he's clearly in pain.
And looked like it had
some swelling already.
- But then we saw
Gordon walk out with crutches.
[background chatting]
Oh God, Gordon is hurt.
So fingers crossed it isn't too bad,
but doesn't look great.
[upbeat hip-hop music]
[crowd cheering]
[buzzer beeping]
- [Announcer:] Final score:
Philadelphia 76ers 106,
Boston Celtics 110.
♪ Defense ♪
♪ Defense ♪
- [Taylor:] Woah!
- [Announcer:] Final score from today’s game:
Toronto 150, Brooklyn Nets 122.
- One of the best things to do
at the end of these long days:
You see these heels?
That's not gonna work as I get to the bus.
Pro tip: You always, always, always
have flats you don't care about
that you can throw on.
[shoes thumping]
Cuz we got a bus to catch.
[crowd cheering]
- [Announcer:] No shot.
[ominous rock music]
- [Taylor:] Hey Jimmy.
So you have been playing great basketball.
You seem to be having fun out there.
You're winning.
What is it about the
Miami Heat specifically
that has allowed you to
thrive at this level?
- I get to be me.
I get to cuss people out when
they're not doing their job.
They're gonna cuss me out
whenever I'm not doing mine.
I'm gonna take nothing personal.
It's on to the next play
because everybody knows
that whenever I say something, I mean well.
May not come out the right way,
but I mean well, and it goes
that way across the board.
[crowd cheering]
- [Announcer:] Jimmy Butler!
- There are so many
games, so many practices
happening every single day,
but we are still in the midst
of some competitive playoff series.
We've got Bucks-Magic, who
need to continue their games.
There's Lakers-Blazers, Rockets-Thunder,
Jazz-Nuggets, Clippers-Mavericks.
Yeah, those are the ones that are left.
So still some series left.
Still teams fighting for a win,
trying to make it to the second round.
So expect some big finishes.
- [Interviewer:] How do you get the squad
to meet that standard
of, you know, day one—of course you’ve all
been there a million times.
So how does that play out to this?
- I'm not smiling at your question.
Anthony is behind where you guys settin’ stuff up, man.
Y'all, I'm gonna call you, Anthony.
I'll meet you in your room.
- No, the Browns about
to play in the Super Bowl, so yeah.
- Oh, OK. I'll see you in a little bit.
[crowd cheering]
[upbeat hip-hop music]
- [Announcer:] Three-ball,
Anthony Davis.
- Game over, Lakers win.
All right, I only have one game today.
Lakers-Blazers, Game 3.
Series is split.
Who's winning it?
Who's winning it today?
[upbeat hip-hop music]
[crowd cheering]
[upbeat rhythmic music]
- [Announcer:] Basket, Davis.
- So the officiating
in the bubble so far
has been a little shaky.
It feels like they're
calling technicals on things
that wouldn't normally be techs.
Lot of foul calls.
I wonder how much the lack of a crowd
has to do with that, but
it hasn't been the best.
[upbeat rhythmic music]
- [Announcer:] Three!
[crowd cheering]
- Mavs vs. Clippers.
Porzingis got
ejected and it was weak.
Weak call, weak sauce.
[background chatting]
[muffled speaking]
You know, when it comes to playoff time,
every single thing counts, right?
And if you aren’t in the game,
people are thinking about,
"OK, maybe the outcome was different
if Kristaps was in the game."
How do you get over that,
thinking about maybe
what your absence did?
- There's really not much
to do there, you know?
You can think about the possibilities,
but it is what is at this point.
We're already past this game,
and we're gonna look
at the mistakes we made
and things we could do
better for the second game.
And our belief is still strong
that we can beat these guys.
And that's it.
If we didn’t have that belief,
we shouldn’t be here anyway.
So that's our mindset
going into the second game.
- This is the face of a very sad person.
I'm sad because yesterday
I missed the overtime game
between the Rockets and the Thunder.
Then today I miss a monster
performance by Luka,
and an OT win from the
Mavericks beating the Clippers
and tying up the series,
because I didn't submit for that game!
I missed it!
Probably the best game of the bubble.
[crowd cheering]
[sneakers squeaking]
[buzzer squealing]
[crowd cheering]
Hey, Don.
So obviously last game
you had 57
points, today you had 30.
How have you almost become a chameleon?
You can always adapt to
what the team needs from you
at any given moment or any given game.
How have you been able to do that?
- I think the biggest thing for me
is just trying to, like you said,
just reading the situation.
I think, I said it earlier,
my first two years I kinda saw
the rim and being a scorer.
Now it's kinda, I prided
myself over quarantine to just how to become a playmaker.
Find a way to get the team involved,
and it may not always be scoring.
And I think today just
really trusting my teammates,
and they did a hell of a job.
I mean Rudy [Gobert], Joe [Ingles],
J.C. [Jordan Clarkson], Royce [O’Neal], everybody,
to be able to not just hit shots,
but be ready and make plays.
I think that's what made it easy for me.
- OK, I'm here
at Jazz vs. Nuggets.
When I had Rudy Gobert on my show one year,
he was talking about how
people don't pay attention
to the team as much as they
should because it's in Utah.
And he's kinda right.
Media is usually full at these games.
It's really just me and Rena hanging out.
Shai, I stayed all this
time just to get a close-up
of your hair.
- Oh, wow.
[Taylor laughing]
You are dedicated.
- [Reporter:] In the hands of Gallinari.
How much do you attribute—
[machine beeping]
- [P.J. Tucker:] Hey, Russ [Westbrook], I can't
hear over here, thanks.
I can't hear.
I'm doing interviews, thank you.
- All right, guess what?
You know what they can't put on TV?
I don't...no, but you know
it's too many cameras.
[all laughing]
[muffled speaking]
- [Taylor:] What's the story?
- You got a wire on?
Oh, a wire, man.
[Taylor laughing]
- Only in the bubble, man.
- Only in the bubble.
- [Announcer:] Three-point basket, James Harden.
- Sitting here
waiting for the Lakers-
Blazers to start.
Right now the Thunder-
Rockets game is in OT.
The Thunder are up.
The Rockets haven't scored
once in all of overtime.
I am sick that I'm missing it.
[rhythmic upbeat music]
[Announcer:] Dennis Schroder!
- OK, during our game break,
eating food,
but the Magic are playing the Bucks.
They're up like 20 points,
so I think everybody might
have overreacted after Game 1.
The Raptors just swept the Nets,
advancing to the second round.
But Fred VanVleet didn't
want any basketball questions
asked at his press conference.
He only wanted to talk about Jacob Blake,
who was shot by the police
in the back multiple times.
He was incredibly thoughtful,
visibly emotional,
had some tears in his eyes,
but he is another example of players
trying to say, you know, even
though we are in the playoffs,
there are other things
happening in the world
that are more important.
[Taylor:] Hey, Fred.
So I know that pulling up your phone
and seeing people that look like you
being killed by the police can be a lot.
So I guess my question
is just how are you?
How are you doing mentally?
- I'm a little bit all over the place.
Like I said, you start to
feel guilty a little bit.
There's a lot of stuff
going on for me back home.
People in my own community
dying out by the hands of police,
but it's just a byproduct of their environment.
So you try to take all
that in, and we're here
and we're isolated.
My family got to town yesterday.
I don't get to see them for another week.
So it'll be nice to hug and
kiss on my kids a little bit.
But yeah, you just try to deal with it,
and it's a lot to take in.
I think we can't underestimate the trauma
that we take in on a daily
basis from our phones
and watching these videos.
And you watch a guy get shot
in front of his entire family,
and then right underneath that video
is somebody saying,
"Hey, well he shoulda just
listened to the police."
So you take all that in.
Whether you register it or not.
Whether you realize what
you're looking at or not.
You're taking that in and
that depreciation of life,
and you get numb to
what you're looking at.
And you almost start to question yourself,
like, “damn, maybe he shoulda listened,”
and you start to think, and
then you snap back to reality.
Like, nah, that's not right.
So it's a lot of emotions to take in.
You just try to stay levelheaded
and bounce ideas off of—
we got a tight group here.
So like I said, we had a
chance to speak this morning,
and however you see fit
to get that out, you do.
But it's a lot, and we're
in the middle of it.
I mean it's fresh.
It's fresh, but every time it's fresh
it brings back old
stuff and reopens wounds,
and my father was killed when I was young.
So it's just a lot of things that go into
taking all of this information in.
- [Taylor:] There are no
players on the floor.
The clock hit zero.
The players came out and warmed up
but went back, and it
seems like the chatter
is there will be no Game 5 today.
All games have been postponed.
[background chatting]
- Our focus today cannot be on basketball.
- We are calling for
justice for Jacob Blake
and demand the officers
be held accountable.
- OK, August 27,
a day after the NBA postponed their games
as players sat out in
support of racial equality
and social justice.
I just got off the phone with some people,
and what I am hearing about the joint call
between the owners and players
is that it was incredibly productive.
The main point was players stressed
that they wanted there to
be a dedicated coalition
that worked within the NBA
whose full-time job was
to support certain causes
on a grassroots level, local activists,
funding them, supporting
them, amplifying their voice.
A full-time coalition dedicated to that.
I hear LeBron James was
the last player to speak
on that call, and he stressed
to the owners this has to be something
that they care about
past the basketball season.
Michael Jordan was also on that call
and was an incredibly
strong voice as well.
Friday, August 28.
This is the first day of practices
since the players decided to strike
and not play these dates
of basketball games.
I am headed to the Clippers practice.
I am headed to the Clippers practice.
[Taylor:] Hey, Doc.
So we talk a lot about perspective,
but in years to come when
history tells the story
about these past couple days,
what story do you want it to tell?
- Oh, man. Taylor, that’s too deep.
[all laughing]
God.
I want them to tell the story
about what they're speaking about now,
that the league is doing something.
Whenever that story is told,
they're talking about what's
happening at that moment,
that it started then.
The reason I say that, that means
they're still doing it.
And this, I'm just hoping is
not a one-hit wonder thing.
This has to continue.
And I think that's why the
coalition is so important,
because this is not about
just today. Something's
gonna happen next week,
next month.
And we have to have a group in place
to understand how to handle that,
and understand how to help
the players process through it.
And we have to have a group that
is working on legislation all the time.
Not just U.S., but state-
to-state legislation.
And so I think that's the
story that I want told.
- [Taylor:] Thank you.
- Thanks, guys.
- Thank you.
- [Doc:] Thanks for the deep
question, appreciate it.
- For sure.
- No problem.
- For sure.
- No problem.
- The past couple days is a
change for the greater good
of the future.
When you see change
happening in the future
and you can look back and say,
"That was the moment when it happened,
and that was a key
moment when it happened.”
Obviously the bubble season
would never be forgotten
when it comes to sports.
This is the first time we've been able
to do something like this.
But obviously this
moment is so much bigger
than us playing basketball.
So hopefully the initiatives
that we came together
that we partnered with—
voting and the sites and the arenas
and things of that nature—
hopefully years on down the line
America is in a better place
that you could look back to this moment
and be like, “That was one of the catapults
that got it going.”
- Wanna shed some light
on what NBA coaches
are doing to help this movement.
They are playing such a big
role in amplifying the voices
of the voiceless.
I was just on the phone with
Atlanta Hawks head coach
Lloyd Pierce, and he
was actually in the car
waiting for a call from
Jacob Blake Sr.,
trying to figure out what they can do
to help the situation.
I also recently learned
that Mavs head coach
Rick Carlisle played a pivotal role
in some policy change in Dallas.
He worked alongside local activists.
August 29, the games
are starting back up.
- [Announcer:] Giannis Antetokounmpo!
[Crowd cheering]
[Upbeat hip-hop music]
- [Announcer:] Three!
[Whistle blowing]
[Crowd cheering]
- [Boban Marjanovic:] Hello, how are you?
- Good to see you.
- Good to see you too.
- Yes.
Oh my gosh, your fist is
so much bigger than mine.
- It's working.
It’s going up.
[Crowd:] Defense! Defense!
[Crowd cheering]
[Announcer:] Three-point basket, Jamal Murray.
[Upbeat hip-hop music]
- [Announcer:] Three more from the wing!
Luguentz Dort!
- [Chris Paul:] Yes, sir.
We just want a chance.
We just wanted a chance.
Yeah, Tim, we just want a chance!
Yeah, Gallo.
We just gave ourselves a chance.
Game 7, anything can happen!
- [Clapping]
- [Taylor:] I mean, hearing that coming from you,
how much does, like, that simple line fuel you?
- It's just, you know, you down 3-2,
and like I said, you come
into the bubble, it’s different.
You gotta be packed,
cuz the game at 9:00.
You don't win the game, we
goin’ to the airport tomorrow.
You know what I mean?
So we gave ourselves a chance.
That's all you want.
Now it's 3-3.
[Crowd cheering]
- I don't feel good
about this for the Jazz.
[Crowd cheering]
[Whistle blowing]
- [Crowd:] Defense!
Defense!
Defense!
Defense!
Defense!
[Crowd cheering]
Defense!
[Crowd groaning]
[Announcer:] Ahhh!
Final score:
Utah 78, Nuggets 80.
Let's gooo!
[Crowd cheering]
[Upbeat hip-hop music]
- [Announcer:] Round 2, ding!
- [Taylor:] Hey, Donovan.
I know you've walked us
through the final play,
what it was like through your head then.
But once that was over,
you were on the floor
for a bit.
Can you walk me through the emotions
that you felt on the ground?
- To be honest with you I'm in shock.
That was really it.
I think the biggest
thing is we worked so hard
as a unit, as a whole to get to a point
that we got to, and we were
this close, you know?
We were down and came back and fought
and fought and clawed,
and to be that close,
that hurts.
And I really didn't know what else to do.
I was exhausted.
I just kinda just laid there.
I don't know, man. I just—
that shit sucks.
This is gonna be in my
mind for a long time.
This kinda reminds me of last year
being 4-of-23 from the field.
That kinda fueled my entire season,
Game 5 against Houston,
and fueled everything I did this year.
It's just another thing
to fuel for next year.
I'll be back. We'll be back.
But that's really what that was.
[Crowd cheering]
[Rhythmic upbeat music]
[Whistle blowing]
- OKC ball.
1.1 seconds left.
The anxiety! This is enough time.
Catch and shoot, get a three.
- [Crowd:] Defense!
Defense!
Defense!
[Whistle blowing]
[Crowd cheering]
- [Announcer:] Rockets win!
- Round 1
was incredibly eventful,
to say the least.
We started off watching some players
play very competitive basketball.
Then there was a pause
because players wanted to use their voice,
protest against police brutality
and racism that happens in this country.
But now Round 1's over.
Round 2 is set.
And we'll see you then.
