ORLANDO – The message came shortly after 11 am, and my first day in the bubble reached its first official speed bump. I just finished practice, are you here? This, from Thunder team member Matt Tumbleson, buzzed just as I was preparing to leave my hotel room, and a strange 20 minutes. Oklahoma City ended early. And after spending a week anxiously waiting to practice, I had missed the first one.
Welcome into the bubble, the NBA’s $ 170 million effort to complete its devastated COVID-19 season. The media quarantine ended Sunday night, releasing a dozen miserable ink spots (digitally) from the four walls of the Coronado Springs Hotel. It was a liberating moment, until he remembered that freedom meant exposure to temperatures over 90 degrees in the thick air of central Florida. Freedom also came with restrictions. The team hotels are off limits. The areas where the players walk are also on the no-fly list. Team staff may visit the media, but reporters are expressly prohibited from approaching them. After a couple of laps around campus (Look, a pool! A gym! A parking lot!) most retired to their rooms.
Routine is important in the bubble. The NBA requires members of the media to submit practice requests two days in advance. A medical questionnaire must be completed before 11 am Temperature checks, pulse ox measurements, jobs. Coronavirus testing begins at 9 am. Simply leaving the room requires a checklist. Mask? It is understood. MagicBand? Using it Credential? On Monday, I got to the middle of the test site without using mine. I returned to my room with my arms crossed in a foolish attempt to ensure that security was unaware.
After jumping a few hoops, the opportunities in the bubble are endless. It is a fantasy camp for NBA writers. Covering equipment used to require an airplane trip and some nights in a hotel. On Monday, I checked in four in one day. Portland was my first stop, and yes, Skinny Melo is a real thing. Carmelo Anthony says he lost five pounds during the NBA hiatus, although it seems more. There are many rumors about these Blazers. Portland is 3 ½ games behind Memphis for the final playoff spot in the West, but a return from Jusuf Nurkic and Zach Collins has given the Blazers a talent infusion. Charles Barkley, among others, has already chosen Portland to bother the Lakers in the first round. Danny Green has said that LA does not want to be part of them. Seeing Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum light up shooting exercises after practice, you start to become a believer.
Indiana was next, where the Victor Oladipo watch is in full swing. Pacers coach Nate McMillan gave some news Monday when he announced that Oladipo would be involved in Indiana scrimmages this week. It has been a strange week for Oladipo, who came to Orlando with the intention of sitting down, although healthy, Oladipo did not want to risk re-injuring his right quadriceps, which broke in January 2019 and left him out for a year, but now He is likely to play in a resumed season.
“He’s going through practice and it looks good,” said McMillan. “Our first game is Thursday and we will see how our boys feel and we will give them minutes accordingly. Right now, there are no restrictions for anyone.”
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A couple of hours later, the Celtics practice and … wait, what is Tacko Fall doing? In the corner of the gym, Fall, Boston’s 7’5 “rookie project, is bouncing two basketballs. A cell phone is held by a post in front of him. During the NBA break, the Celtics Brad Stevens encouraged his assistants to be creative with the players they worked with. Jay Larranaga, Stevens’ top assistant, gave Fall a drip exercise. It’s a ten-minute video, featuring favorite music from Fall, with slides telling Fall when to change boats.
(For what it’s worth, Boston believes Fall, who averaged a double double in the G-League this season, will be a solid rotation player.)
A few minutes after practice ends, Stevens sits on a stool for a Zoom call with local reporters. As Stevens spoke, Kemba Walker passed her. Walker’s health is shaping up to be Boston’s biggest question. A persistent pre-pandemic knee injury has been delayed. Walker has been participating in recent practices, going 50 minutes on Sunday. On Monday, Walker ran sprints along the sideline. Speaking to reporters, Stevens couldn’t help but notice how quickly Walker made his way to the bathroom.
“Kemba flew by,” said Stevens. “We all saw his change of direction and different speeds. Not much has been lost. I don’t know if that was in his practice plan or not, but he was flying. Kemba is improving, it feels good. “
Joe Murphy / NBAE / Getty Images
Toronto earned NBA final practice time, a window of 7-10 pm. Raptors coach Nick Nurse likes late practice. It makes it feel more like a game day, Nurse said. Kyle Lowry does not. Lowry gets up early, at the gym at 8 am most mornings. Lowry, Nurse said, is always behind Nurse to schedule practices as soon as possible.
Printed on the nurse’s long-sleeved shirt, three words: Black Lives Matter. The Raptors have been among the most visible teams supporting the Black Lives Matter movement. They arrived on a bus with the words stamped on one side. Inside the gym, players wore shirts printed with the phrase. And they are not alone. NBA players were determined not to let the social justice movement fade away when the season resumed. And they have endorsed it. Nuggets striker Jerami Grant spent his media session this week reminding reporters that “Breonna Taylor’s killers are still wandering around for freedom.” Sixers forward Tobias Harris used his to verify the name of Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron, and demanded that Cameron prosecute the police officers who killed Taylor, a Louisville-area EMT, who was killed. shot at his home last March. Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle spent part of his availability educating journalists in the Second Battle of Fort Wagner, the Civil War battle led by the 54th Massachusetts Infantry Regiment, the all-black regiment of the Union, immortalized in the 1989 film Glory.
When the Raptors finished, so did Day 1. A quick bus ride back to the hotel, and it’s over. Four teams, four practices and Tuesday offers more of the same. Practice games start on Wednesday, when players will finally face off against someone other than a teammate. Bubble season is truly a unique experience. For gamers … and media, too.
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