The Los Angeles Lakers entered the Walt Disney World bubble in the middle of the week and upon completing the 48-hour quarantine phase, are now poised to practice on Saturday.
With Avery Bradley opting out of the NBA restart and the Lakers signing JR Smith to fill his place on the roster, they are expecting to begin scrimmages and seeding games with 17 players. That of course includes Dwight Howard, who contemplated sitting out as well.
His presence is one Danny Green highlighted as being a significant boon for the Lakers. Green remained in regular contact with Howard, and he also had been one of the team’s most vocal players throughout the hiatus.
Green has been ready to get back to work for a few months, but has undergone some significant life changes since March. Green got engaged to his long-time girlfriend, Blair Bashen, in June, meaning leaving for the bubble had some different implications than before.
Green discussed leaving for Orlando and the unique feeling that accompanied the road trip of sports, via “Inside the Green Room” podcast:
“Oh man, it was weird. It’s different, because you never really plan for a road trip like this one. Saying your goodbyes, you saw ‘Bron tweeted, feel like we’re doing a bid (going to prison), because you’re just going away, or like going to war or something like that. It’s kind of weird. Everybody is saying goodbyes and getting emotional because they don’t know the next time they’ll see you. … So beginning of the day was just weird, say your goodbyes, finally get there and it’s different spaces on the plane.
“Seated in different spots so it’s spaced out for social distancing. … It’s been, I wouldn’t say bad, but it’s been fun, it’s been interesting, it’s been different. But you can tell they’ve done a great job of putting together a great situation for us. Obviously, it’s not the best circumstances. It’s not ideal. But with what they have, they’ve made the best out of it.”
Green echoed James’ comments about the strange feeling of heading into the bubble, especially knowing that family will not be able to join until September, when the second round of teh playoffs begin. Every NBA player will now go nearly two months without family.
While he admitted how weird the situation is, Green also commended the league for making the best out of it. The NBA has been praised on many occasions for this bubble concept, and should it work, they’ll continue to receive praise for bringing sports back in a safe way.
Meanwhile, Green and the rest of the league will have to get used to life in the bubble very quickly, as the season is less than three weeks away from resuming.
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