Mike Conley has become so accustomed to traveling in the past few months that when he woke up in his room in the Gran Destino Tower at Coronado Springs Resort on Thursday morning, “I thought I was in Utah”.
Conley said that after the team was allowed to leave their rooms after their second negative test for COVID-19, they immediately headed straight to the training room to register. That session has now ended, the point guard said following a call from Zoom that he and his teammates were looking forward to finally looking around their new temporary home.
“I know the kids are just anxious to get out of their rooms and get some fresh air, move around a bit and see what’s going on,” Conley said.
Jazz ended up in quarantine for about a day and a half, all in all.
Even for the well-adapted and well-prepared, that amount of time was a little difficult.
“Obviously, staying in your room for 36 hours isn’t the best thing to do,” said center Rudy Gobert.
He said he spent his time playing “Call of Duty”, reading or sleeping.
“I am glad that we can now see the sunlight,” added Gobert.
Conley said that most players stayed in touch during the quarantine via video games or text messages.
Coach Quin Snyder, meanwhile, did not face any late-night “Call of Duty” cooperatives, arguing instead that most of his isolation was devoted to “very methodically, intentionally” preparation.
Maybe even a little too much.
“Have – how many hours? – More than 36 hours alone, you have to be careful not to think too much about too many things, which I may have a tendency to do, “Snyder said with a slight smile.
It was a bit of an adaptation for everyone involved.
Given that, Conley said, any complaints about the menu or services are simply the byproduct of gamers trying to get used to their drastically different new reality.
“It’s all new, friend. They had to try and put this together and bring us to the pitch as safely as possible and in the best possible way, so I know they are doing the best they can, “he said. “Obviously, we can get used to one thing, but food is food at the end of the day, and I think kids are just getting used to it and trying to adapt. I think the whole situation we are in right now is only about who will adapt more quickly and will not apologize, will go out there and be content with what we have. “
This adaptation process also took place in the field, as Utah was booked on the “Coronado 1” field on Thursday between 5pm and 8pm EST, and took just over two hours of that time. Reserve backup Georges Niang was the only player in the team’s injury report (despite aching in his left ankle, he still passed most tests). All the others were full participants.
“It was good to be out there again. I felt like everyone was really stuck. Everything has been very positive and we have just undergone it, “said Gobert.” It was a long practice, but the coach did a great job of talking to us and making sure we recovered our good habits. It will be a process , but I really liked the mentality we had today. “
Conley noted that the first 10-15 minutes of the session saw Snyder allow players to follow him and play physically, only to get him after going virtually contactless since the league ended on March 11th.
Snyder said that his main goal for the initial practice was primarily to allow players to “play together again and start getting an idea not only of what we do as a team, but of each other – there it just takes some time. “
In addition to that, he was specifically trying to simulate some game scenarios and also to test the players’ level of conditioning.
“The kids had a lot of energy, the kids got back in shape,” said Conley. “Nobody was on their knees, none of this.”
It remains to be seen if everyone is also mentally fit, able to manage the prospect of being potentially inside the bubble for several months.
Asked what he thought about trying to prepare his players for that, Snyder said that overcoming the initial acclimatization shock, followed by getting the players back to work on the causes of social justice that dominated their attention outside would do long way.
“There is an appreciation from the players – and, I know, from the coaches – but especially from the players, that although it is a sacrifice, there are opportunities to do some good things,” said Snyder. “I think everyone is aware of what those sacrifices have been made by the players, whether it’s the bubble and whatever, to do something that I think is bigger than all of us.”
