Mental adjustment will test Heat's Jae Crowder the most in NBA `bubble'

Miami Heat forward Jae Crowder has always been known as a tireless worker.

In fact, it's a given he goes full speed on each possession. As he nears the end of the first week in the NBA "bubble" in Orlando, Crowder is facing a new challenge. He is figuring out a way to make the mental adjustment of playing in quarantine for the next couple months.

"The most important part for me is mentally," Crowder said after Sunday's practice via Zoom interview. "Physically, I know I'm going to put the work in. That's not even a question. But mentally you may have some days where it's tougher. I just want to continue to build mentally to push forward even on the good days and bad days. (Saturday), I woke up and it was great day for me. I woke up with a smile on my face. I know every day is not going to be like that here. I just want to continue to put my best foot forward and give it all I got."

Crowder said another adjustment is finding a routine. NBA players often participate in the same daily activities before practices and games during a normal season. Now, they have to deal with the unusual circumstances.

"Wherever we are, we got to find a routine," Crowder said. "Once we have some routine, you start to gain a good feel of how things go, you can start to pick and choose your spots when to push yourself physically and when to lock in mentally. For our younger guys, we've been preaching routine ... From that point on, the ball will continue to roll in our direction."

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