Maxi Kleber cut straight to the point after the Mavericks had their first practice in the Orlando bubble.

“To be honest,” the third-year big man said, “nothing really feels normal right now.”

In that respect, stepping onto a practice court – even a makeshift gym at the Coronado Ballroom – was about the closest the Mavericks and everybody else could get to feeling natural.

Coach Rick Carlisle said his team, which completed nearly 48 hours of quarantine after arriving on the Disney World property, is determined to treat the restart to the NBA season as a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

They practiced Friday afternoon for nearly three hours and while it wasn’t a run-‘til-you drop sort of rigorous workout, it was still nice to get everybody on the practice court together for the first time since the season was halted March 11 because of the COVID-19 crisis.

“It’s great to be back in the gym,” Carlisle said. “Everybody misses the smell of the gym. It’s one of the really special things about any sport. And so, we had a really great, productive practice. The level of enthusiasm is really terrific with our guys.

“This is a historic situation. It’s extraordinary, this environment they’ve put together, the care, the attention to detail. We realize this is probably a once-in-a-lifetime thing. This will go down in history as one of the really unique events in sports history. So our guys have had a great attitude about it.”

The Mavericks arrived in Orlando on Wednesday afternoon. They immediately got tested for the coronavirus and Carlisle said all players were available to practice on Friday after the quarantine period to get results of the tests.

Those first couple of days weren’t easy. Players spent most of the time resting, watching television, playing video games and occasionally going out to their balconies for impromptu social-media opportunities.

For the most part, they just waited for Friday when they could get back to the gym.

And one of the things that they learned during nearly four months away from the game they love is that being around their teammates is something they value now more than ever.

“During the season, you kind of take for granted being around your guys all year,” said Seth Curry. “Every day, you’re around them at the gym, on the road, on the bus. And not seeing them for three or four months is a little weird.

“I think whatever team picks up that camaraderie and that team chemistry where they left off the quickest, is going to have the advantage.”

The Mavericks are staying at the Grand Floridian Resort on the Disney property. Carlisle has a history there. He, wife Donna and then-4-year-old daughter Abby had a family vacation there in 2008. It was just days before Carlisle was hired to coach the Mavericks.

The logistics of being isolated in the so-called “bubble” is that the Mavericks’ traveling party is limited to what they brought with them, although Curry and others already have requested shipments of necessities they didn’t think about before they got to Orlando.

The team used the same trucking company that hauls gear for the Cowboys to fall training camp in California to bring a load of essentials to Florida for the Mavericks.

Still, it’s going to take time to adjust.

“The first days, we had to stay in our room,” Kleber said. “We’ll see the next couple days if we can (go) fishing, play golf, stuff like that. But it’s OK. The first two days were a little bit boring because you couldn’t leave the room.

“There’s no escape to see family or friends. The great thing about us is we get along well. I think we’ll have a fun time. We’ll get to know each other a lot better on and off the court.”

Anything about the “new normal” is still too new to qualify as a routine.

But the start of practice – the Mavericks don’t have their first scrimmage until July 23 and their first of eight games to finish the regular season isn’t until July 31 – provides something of a sanctuary for the team.

“We’re calling this a ramp-up,” Carlisle said. “We’re starting from day one. We’ve carefully planned the first three days (of practice).

“Part of this is taking a gauge as to where our guys are physically. We got through this practice with no issues. A lot of it is getting back to doing movements that are NBA, full-bore movements. We’re beginning the process of full-fledged, full-court conditioning and then of course reviewing things that are necessary for us to review in terms of our strategy and how we play offensively and defensively.”

Carlisle has been around long enough to know that the regular season games, as well as the playoffs starting on Aug. 15, will be here before the Mavericks know it.

“It’s going to be a long time being away from the family, so I’m just trying to stay connected there,” he said. “But the time passed surprisingly fast. And now that we’re out of quarantine and in the gym again, I really sense it’s going to fly by.”

Quest for racial equality: Carlisle started his Zoom conference call with reporters by saying that he will be reading a vignette every day about a racial injustice from the past.

He said all 365 days on the calendar have some event of racial injustice or systemic oppression.

In light of the George Floyd murder, Carlisle and the coaches’ association of which he is president plan to do their part to keep the issue in the forefront.

Said Carlisle: “To keep this conversation going, I’m going to read (a passage each day): July 10, 1887: Investigation by grand jury in Hinds County, Miss., finds prisoners in the state’s convict leasing system are worked to death, kept in filthy conditions and starved.

“What you’re going to hear is that there’s something like this every single day, 365 days a year.

“It’s something we have to reckon with, talk about and try to heal from.”

Twitter: @ESefko

 

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