Inside the bubble, Part 2

The players had gotten settled and somehow adjusted to life inside the bubble, which is by far, the most ambitious and thorough plan made by the NBA among all major league sports to resume play during the pandemic.  Players had found a way to entertain themselves after the required lockdown and seemed generally satisfied of the way the league handled the matter. Yes, from beer drinking contests to fishing to DJ mixing to golf.

As of last Sunday afternoon, the state of Florida recorded more than 350,000 confirmed cases of Covid-19 cases and is averaging 12,000 cases daily.  Yet, Dwight Howard refuses to wear a mask when going around the Disney World saying that he and the others inside the bubble are not around anyone going in and out of the bubble and he thinks he can’t get the virus inside.  He better think again as Disney staff can come and go out of campus.

With players away from their families for at least a month to a maximum of three months, they shared of how hard it is not to be with them for long periods of time.  The Toronto Raptors somehow eased the yearning for loved ones when they added family pictures to each players’ rooms to at least make them feel at home.

Aside from packing the required stuff for their Disney stay, other players brought with them other things they consider essentials. Montrezl Harrell had a portable sauna installed in his room while Lou Williams set up a recording studio. Kent Bazemore had with him a pancake maker while Kyle Kuzma brought a panini maker so they’ll never go hungry. PJ Tucker loaded 60 pairs of sneakers and is the unofficial NBA sneaker king. Troy Daniels packed enough wardrobe that he always gets dressed-to-impress, even when just “heading to the lobby to have a drink then back to the room”.

Talking about looking good, the league added another perk for the players by having a barbershop constructed inside the bubble. Yes, they should look good when they appear on TV after 4 months of hibernation.  Maybe our long-haired and furry idols can experiment with the Disney barbers this time.

The Disney lake probably had all the fishes wary of those giants with fishing poles as majority of the players go fishing in their free time and everyone of them who caught one had their photos posted on social media.  Norman Powell so far had caught the biggest fis

During the mandatory 2-day quarantine for players, Jimmy Butler got complaints as a noisy neighbor and had security guards knock on his door and inquire about the “loud bumping” noise.  When the door opened, they were greeted by a sweat-drenched Butler, in practice gear from head to foot. It was determined that he was dribbling a basketball inside his room for an extended time, practicing even quarantine period.  He’s known to be a hard worker that being locked inside his room for two days does not prevent him from practicing.