Report: Brewer planning to play vs. Jazz in Game 1
Corey Brewer has a sprained knee, but a report on Thursday said the Thunder guard intends to play on Sunday when his team opens the playoffs.
Yahoo Sports reported on Thursday that Brewer will receive treatment on his sprained knee and “plans to play” on Sunday, when Oklahoma City hosts Utah in Game 1 of a first-round Western Conference playoff series.
The Thunder did not confirm that report. A team spokesman confirmed that Brewer has a right knee sprain, but declined to provide a timetable for his return.
Brewer sprained his knee in the fourth quarter of Wednesday’s win against the Memphis Grizzlies when guard Mario Chalmers fouled him on a 3-point attempt. Brewer limped off the court and did not return to the game.
In 18 regular-season games with the Thunder, including 16 starts, Brewer averaged 10.1 points, 3.4 rebounds, 1.3 assists and 2.1 steals. He played 54 games this season with the Los Angeles Lakers before the team bought him out, clearing the way for him to sign with Oklahoma City as a free agent.
Brewer was in the locker room on Wednesday after the game, and walked out under his own power. He had his knee further examined on Thursday, when the Thunder had an off day from practice.
Oklahoma City will return to practice on Friday, and it’s unclear whether Brewer will participate or be ready for Sunday’s game, but his teammates were hopeful for a quick recovery.
“I think he’ll be fine,” forward Paul George said. “From talking to him, he says he’s all right.”
Thunder: Davis comment ‘offensive’
Play-by-play announcer Brian Davis’ use of the phrase “cotton-picking mind” during the Thunder’s win against Memphis on Wednesday was “unacceptable,” a team spokesman said on Thursday.
Davis used the phrase in reference to an assist from
Russell Westbrook to Terrance Ferguson for a 3-pointer in the second quarter of Wednesday’s game.
“Westbrook is out of his cotton-pickin’ mind!” Davis said on the Fox Sports Oklahoma broadcast of the game.
A post on Davis' Facebook page apologized for the use of the term. It read, "Last night I used a phrase on the air that was illconsidered, insensitive and hurtful. I'm beyond sorry about it and apologize, without reservation, from the bottom of my heart."
The Thunder considered use of the phrase "highly inappropriate and offensive," said Dan Mahoney, the team's vice president of broadcasting and corporate communications.
“I’ve spoken to Brian about it," Mahoney said. "He assures me that it was in no way meant to be derogatory or inoffensive. Nonetheless, it was. It was an inappropriate thing to say, and we don’t condone it.”
Asked if there would be any reprimand for Davis, Mahoney said that was a personnel matter and the Thunder would not publicly comment on it.
Mahoney said it would be up to Davis whether to address his comments on the on air.
There has been considerable debate in recent years about the use of “cotton-picking” as an adjective, including in 2011, when its use was the source of controversy in Canadian Parliament.
It’s generally considered a term of disapproval that in decades past was used to replace “damn,” and it has been used in Bugs Bunny cartoons. However, the phrase dates back to workers picking cotton, including in the American south, where that labor often was done by black slaves.
TV options
The Thunder’s firstround games against the Jazz will be available via both national and local broadcasts.
Nationally, Game 1 on Sunday and Game 4 on April 23 will air on TNT. Game 2 next Wednesday will air on NBA TV and Game 3 on April 21 on ESPN.
Broadcast networks if the series extends beyond four games are to be determined.
The first four games also will air locally on Fox Sports Oklahoma, as would a potential Game 5 and Game 6. It will be determined later if Fox Sports Oklahoma would broadcast Game 7 should the series reach that point.