SportsPulse: USA TODAY Sports’ Mark Medina discusses the difficult decision players have to pick up on the season and how the teams have reacted to the few who have already given up.
USE TODAY
While staying in quarantine for nearly 3 and a half months, Orlando Magic guard Markelle Fultz has addressed concerns ranging from knowing how to get ready for a shooting season to how to speak on social justice issues. He also stressed how to properly consume the documentary of “The Last Dance” about Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls dynasty of the 90s.
“I couldn’t deal with looking at two and then having to wait until the next two came out,” Fultz said on Monday in a conference call. “I saw it a little later than most people. It hit me somehow. I’d like to go to Twitter and people talk about it, and it’s like, “Damn I have to watch it”. “
However, Fultz remained disciplined. For five weeks, she refused to read and watch the takeaways of each episode after it aired. Instead, he waited until the entire 10-part series aired, so he could watch the documentary. Fultz thought he could fully appreciate Jordan’s legacy and how he helped the Bull win six NBA championships with essentially two different team iterations (1991-1993, 1996-98).
“It’s something exceptional to keep in mind about basketball during this quarantine,” said Fultz. “What I got out of it was mental strength. It only had the thrust and competitive nature that had to be exceptional. It was something from which I took and which will lead to my everyday life. It’s not just in basketball. But it’s just me who’s a better person every day. “
‘The Last Dance’: What we learned about Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls from the documentary
Fultz partially credited that series for making sure he worked to improve himself once the NBA stopped the season on March 11th due to the new outbreak of the coronavirus.
Three days after quarantine, Fultz purchased a basketball court and went to the Walmart website. He picked up the purchase via sidewalk pickup to maximize social distance rules, then assembled the parts to make sure he could shoot basketball whenever he wanted. The unfortunate reality: not all NBA players had such a luxury.
Fultz, though. So he trained daily, sometimes up to three hours a day on his throws, ball handling and conditioning. He trained in a weight room that he had in his garage. He regularly checked in with teammates and coaches with Zoom calls.
“I was at an insane pace at the end of the season. The biggest thing is that I didn’t want to lose that rhythm, “said Fultz.” I know how it can go when you don’t pick up a ball for a while. You start thinking about other things and walk away. “
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Will it be enough for Fultz to keep his game strong, which partly explains why Magic (30-35) has a 5½ lead over the Washington Wizards (24-40) for the eighth and final playoff spot? Perhaps easier said than done.
Fultz, who averages 12.1 points and 5.2 assists this season, had no access to the Magic practice facility, so he was unable to cure his various shoulder and knee ailments that had bothered him in the last seasons. Although Fultz already plays in Orlando, where the NBA will host his resurgence of the season, Magic have no geographic advantage.
“At first, I thought we were going to be able to stay home, so I was a little excited. But then I realized that we would also remain in the bubble, “said Fultz.” I understand the reasons why. It’s something I’m consciously thinking about. But I think of other teams that have to fly in their state and where they are playing to come to Orlando It’s something that none of us have been used to or ready for. I thought of it as if it were an AAU tournament. “
He will not Exactly be like an AAU tournament. The season will begin with 22 teams out of 30 playing eight games of the normal season. Then a traditional playoff format will begin. They will be subject to daily tests and social removal rules.
The Magic is also one of many NBA teams that brainstorm on how to talk about racial inequality after the deaths of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Rayshard Brooks and Elijah McClain after the shootings at the hands of law enforcement.
“There are many people in general who don’t believe in what’s going on in the world,” said Fultz. “I think we have to use our platform to defend it. I see we have a chance.”
Fultz said Magic hasn’t finalized any team plans, but the team has talked about possible filming of a PSA to address various racial injustice issues.
It remains to be seen how Fultz will manage all the elements of a shooting season. But he is grateful that watching “The Last Dance” in its entirety crystallized plans on how he will try to face various challenges.
“I had to write down some notes. I knew I wouldn’t remember everything, “said Fultz.” I have a few notes that I wrote down that I’m looking back as I walk through this journey. “
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