It has been more than a month since the NBA put their 2019-20 season on hold due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) and there is still no clear road ahead for it to resume.
There has been growing optimism the regular season can be salvaged but until then, players will be doing all they can to stay ready.
Danny Green spoke about the struggles that some players are having while being at home, via Spectrum SportsNet:
“Definitely. Not just for me, but for many people. I’ve read articles that’s saying guys have not been able to get access cause you don’t really realize that a lot of us don’t have equipment in our house. We don’t have gyms in our house. We don’t build that because it’s really unnecessary. It’s not a necessity. We have a facility nearby, we have basketball equipment at our locker rooms. So a lot of times, things shutdown we can’t get access to those facilities. It’s like, ‘Man, I have hundred pairs of tights in there, but I don’t have none at home.’ I have to find basketball shoes here, let alone a basketball. So like, we have to find all this equipment. And then we don’t have a hoop, we don’t have a court, we have to figure out ways to dribble. If you can find one, great, but a lot of guys can’t get that access, so it’s a lot of people struggling to figure out ways and trying to stay sharp especially teams that they feel are contenders.”
Green also believes the 2020 NBA Finals will come down to the most well-conditioned team:
“And the teams or the organizations or the rosters that actually win the waiting game and actually stay in shape during this time is the team that’s gonna win. Doesn’t matter if you’re a one seed or an eight seed. I really strongly believe that the group that actually stays together and communicates throughout this process and actually stays in shape is the team that’s going to win. It doesn’t matter the seeding.”
Home gyms and equipment are a luxury even for NBA players and so teams have done their best to resolve that, but players like Green are still going to find it difficult to get their normal workouts in. The issue of conditioning is a massive concern as players are more susceptible to injury if they have not trained their bodies properly before jumping back into game action.
The Los Angeles Lakers have reportedly been keeping in touch with each other and staying the course, but it will be interesting to see how they look if they do take the floor again this season.