Thunder Give Us a Behind The Scenes Look at the Bubble
The Oklahoma City Thunder began practicing for the restart of the season on Friday. Over the next few weeks, while getting ready to compete, the Thunder will also be getting used to life inside the NBA bubble.
According to the Thunder website, the team arrived in Orlando on Wednesday, where they were picked up busses and taken to the Grand Floridan hotel. All teams are assigned a liaison who will help with any needs players and staff have during their stay.
In orientation, league representatives gave a detailed description of the NBA medical plan, which included testing for COIVD-19 and a period of isolation. Each member of the traveling party received a bracelet that can be removed when they test negative (twice) for coronavirus.
When the bracelet is removed, you then receive a credential with a sensor that lets you know when you are within six feet of another person. Players are also given bands which allow touch-free access to rooms and buildings.
The NBA has designed an app where players and coaches will log their temperatures and pulse oximetry information. Different color codes will tell a person if they have been clear to leave their room.
The Thunder are also doing an excellent job on social media, keeping you up to date on players' actives. Based on the pictures that were tweeted out, Darius Bazley and Chris Paul were engaged in a "friendly game" of cornhole with the loser (Bazley) being forced to do pushups.
Joel Embiid Still Not Sold On The Bubble
Even with all precautions, the league is taking to keep players safe while they are in Orlando, some are still uncertain if it will work. One of those is 76er Joel Embiid, who says he's not thrilled with the idea of playing in the Disney complex.
"To me, all I want is to stay healthy, and stay safe, keep the people around me safe."... "I want to make sure I'm able to live for a long time and not have any sort of consequences in the future from this if I were to be in a situation where I was getting the virus."
" Unfortunately, I'm not a big fan of the idea." ..."But then again, I'm going to do my job."
I'm not going to let the city down."..." I'm going to represent my city — that's what I've always done — my family, my teammates."
"The mindset doesn't change. It doesn't matter the fact that I don't like that idea, and I still don't believe in it."... "I don't think it's's going to be safe enough."
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With more than 20 years of experience hosting local and national radio shows, Erik Gee is a fixture of Oklahoma sports media. He has covered the Oklahoma City Thunder for the past six seasons. He is also the co-host of the Pat Jones show on 97.1 The Sports Animal in Tulsa.
