Raptors' Nurse on Florida: "I feel really safe here"
As COVID-19 cases surge over 100 thousand in Florida, the Toronto Raptors have begun acclimating to their new lives inside the NBA bubble.
Since the Raptors moved to Florida on June 22, the state has seen a 40 thousand case increase. It has become an epicenter for COVID-19 transmission, but according to Raptors coach Nick Nurse, things are pretty OK inside the team's Florida Gulf Coast University compound.
"I feel really safe here," Nurse told ESPN's Tim Bontemps. "We've got a great setup, and I feel good, man."
The Raptors are the first team to try out the NBA's bubble return plan. They've been practicing at the FGCU facility, preparing for the season's return in late July.
"It feels like we're going to basketball camp every day," Nurse joked with Bontemps.
The team has been rotating players in and out of the gym to avoid overcrowding within the facility. Players will only be able to begin working out in groups once they've relocated to Orlando and joined the other 21 teams next week.
Ultimately, if Toronto can repeat as NBA champions this year, the Raptors could be in Florida for 16 weeks before returning home in mid-October.
For now, at least, Nurse told ESPN he hasn't sensed any discontent with how things are going inside the bubble.
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