The NBA bubble games will kick off with three days of exhibition games among the teams that are inside Disney World.
The NBA is less than two weeks from the first day of the restarted season, and the situation inside Disney World is looking smooth with minimal hiccups along the way. Players and coaches are focusing on getting their bodies and minds ready for a fast-tracked seeding stage before the Playoffs.
Similar to an NBA season, the league has scheduled exhibition games for the teams. It will be in these games that the teams can figure out their chemistry before the restarted season.
Cooperation is key in the bubble
Miami head coach Erik Spoelstra thinks that an open line between coaches is crucial for the bubble to succeed. The adjustments for the teams and the players are big. As such, some sort of cooperation among teams is necessary.
Tim Reynolds of the Associated Press reports that Spoelstra is open to working with Luke Walton and Quinn Snyder to get their teams ready for the seeding games. Spoelstra said,
“You have to fast-track so much before you get to that eight-game regular season. … We’ll approach it that way and play probably everybody available, but definitely work on some things and do a little bit of evaluating as well.”
The cooperation will come in the form of what the coach wants to get from the opposing team in the exhibition games. There will be no tampering involved as the teams that will work with each other come from opposing conferences.
NBA bubble game challenges
The games inside Disney World will be different from the games played outside. Players will have to figure out how to play without home-court advantage. In other words, they’d have to find a source of their momentum without relying on the usual energy inside their arenas.
Also, players are asked to refrain from unnecessary physical antics. Unique handshakes and chest bumps are discouraged. It means that one key aspect of the players’ chemistry bond is also taken away. Fortunately, the players are finding more ways than one to keep their relationships solid.
The games that will be played on the first day of the exhibition games will be limited to just ten minutes. The details of the games haven’t been laid out yet. However, the main purpose of the shortened playing time to get the players accustomed to the new playing surroundings.
After the first day, the games in the next two days will go back to the regular playing time. The exhibition games will be a huge test run for the rest of the season. Stats will be taken, and all games will be televised.
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