NBA Playoffs Pillows: Mavs Bed-Time Weapon Helps Rest In The Bubble
Each Dallas Mavericks player and coach has his own list of items they brought with them to the NBA ‘bubble’ campus in Orlando. For example, Maxi Kleber brought an electric piano to DJ a balcony dance party for his teammates at the lavish Disney Resort the Mavs are calling home. Other guys brought golf clubs, video-game stuff and workout equipment.
There is one item that every player and coach had delivered from Dallas to make their hotel rooms feel more normal: Personalized pillows based on their own beds and bedding from home.
The Mavs could be sleeping in the Grand Floridian Resort and Spa for almost four months total - pending some success in these NBA Playoffs, starting with the ongoing Round 1 matchup with the Clippers. So, not to discount the hotel bed situation, but professional athletes’ extreme body types have extreme sleep needs.
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The team has partnered with Bedgear, which has outfitted the Mavs with products focused on maximizing rest and recovery for the past three years. Bedgear tells DallasBasketball.com that each bed/pillow/sheets set is personalized to fit the body type, sleep position and temperature preference for each player and member of the coaching staff.
No surprise, 7-4 Boban Marjanović has the largest mattress (72 inches wide, 84 inches long!) of the team and coaching staff. Most of the players prefer a firmer mattress as they have such large body types and need to have firmer support for optimal spinal alignment.
More interesting sleeping tidbits relayed to DBcom by Bedgear: JJ Barea, Tim Hardaway Jr., and Luca Doncic all have Bedgear dog beds for their pups. While, coach Rick Carlisle sleeps with three pillows, two to support the head, neck and shoulders and a larger pillow as a leg pillow.
When the Mavs arrived to the bubble and weren’t sleeping great, Bedgear freighted in their pillows right away to help with their not-so-normal situation.
“We appreciate Bedgear’s focus on rest and recovery, and we can see the difference in our player’s energy levels each morning for practice. Thanks to them, we are ready for the playoffs,” head trainer Casey Smith tells DBcom via Bedgear.
Now the well-rested Mavs aren’t counting sheep… and hopefully that correlates to a successful and a deep playoff run.
