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NBA players face these psychological issues when the Disney season restarts

The adjustments NBA players will make in the Orlando bubble for the restart of the season on July 30th will be huge.

One change that players have to adapt to, according to a leading sports psychologist, is the lack of a crowd and their noise wall.

However, getting used to games without fans may not be as great as the isolation they face due to limitations within Disney World boundaries.

Dr. Stephen Gonzalez, board member of the Association of Applied Sports Psychology, told The Post that the experience could feel like a “house arrest”, noting the 113-page rule set for bubbles. Violations are banished.

“It’s unknown water,” Gonzalez told the post. “At the Olympics, all movements have to be tracked with security details that affect your freedom. It’s a small amount of what’s supposed to happen with basketball. They are limited to where they can eat. You give up a lot of freedom to do this. “

The 22 teams, including the Nets but not the Knicks, will report to the official training camp in Orlando from July 7-8.

“There will be initial excitement and motivation to follow the rules,” said Gonzalez, assistant athletics director for leadership and intellectual performance in Dartmouth. “At some point it is like a New Year’s resolution. You eat and return to your habits after a week or two. Our athletes will return to what they want. I think there will be a lot of struggle and stress. “

The physical well-being of the players – staying free of COVID-19 and getting back into game after a break of almost four months – may be nothing compared to their mental health.

“We look at COVID from a physical point of view, but there is a mental aspect – fear and fear,” said Gonzalez. “There is interesting data on how COVID affects long-term lung capacity, even for those at a younger age. It’s a damned consequence for athletes. But the fear and isolation of the people? We are social beings. It is a challenge.

“It causes a lot of depression. That is the hidden side effect of COVID. We’re not talking enough about how it could affect these people, ”Gonzalez added.

Lounges are provided, but they contain countless guidelines. For example, players cannot share headsets while playing video games, and double cannot play ping pong. There is a document outlining the correct recipe for disinfecting basketballs used in practice.

Gonzalez predicts that some players in the midstream may drop out.

“It’s a pretty big experiment with willpower and patience,” said Gonzalez. “If I can’t exercise properly for four months, I’m stuck in a hotel and I can’t do anything. You will need something to keep yourself busy, or it could be a miserable experience. “

Players are subjected to COVID-19 exams daily. NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said on Friday: “Concern has increased with the rise in Florida coronavirus.” “We cannot escape the virus,” said Silver.

Gonzalez indicated that he would run away before the restart.

“The news has not been great lately,” said Gonzalez. “Much of it depends on how much money we’re going to lose. We really need to check if the risk is worth the reward. “

The risks could be too great, said the Dartmouth psychologist. Players may not be aware of their existing conditions.

“I respect them for trying,” said Gonzalez. “Fans are hungry for it. If you are the commissioner, you hate when an athlete’s career is adversely affected by side effects or death. We know that the younger, healthier population is less, but that doesn’t mean it can’t happen.

“If someone is being critically treated on a ventilator due to existing conditions, are you okay as a commissioner if you know the life-threatening consequences? I don’t know if I agree to being a major sports league commissioner. “

On the pitch, Gonzalez believes players will get used to the no-fan atmosphere, but it could take several games to find their game mojo.

According to an industry source, music is sent to the gym for some games – just like in an arena in front of the corona virus, which makes it less deadly silent.

“You are used to larger crowds,” said Gonzalez. “This could feel more like organized scrimmage or competitive practice. It will be interesting to see how they deal with what they are not used to. The crowd plays into it. They take a shot and feel an adrenaline rush through the noise and applause of the crowd. The athletes now have to concentrate on the task at hand. “

Gonzalez works with Dartmouth athletes – and some professional competitors – to deal with the volume of the arena. Now it’s the opposite: silence.

Different players react differently. Gonzalez feels that LeBron James feeds the fans more than the calmer Kawhi Leonard. James said in March that he would prefer not to play when there are no fans, although he has changed his tune since then.

“LeBron appreciates his relationship with the fans,” said Gonzalez. “Not having the other end of the relationship will be a very difficult thing for him. Tim Duncan, however, you cannot tell if Tim has a good day or a bad day. It is only stoic. There are now a few such players who present their feelings like Kawhi. ”

Many teams have added sports psychologists – and the specialists will come in handy.

“If I were to work with an NBA player, we would talk, among other things, about the impact the crowd has on you, positively or negatively,” added Gonzalez. “And how do we plan to get the same emotions and adrenaline levels without the crowd there? Maybe you use visualization and get so many simulated reps, shoot in an empty gym, get a feel for that calm and quiet, and hug it. It is a factor. You need to find a way to adapt and adapt. “

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