NBA players have been bouncing basketballs most of their lives. For every night playing in a ginormous stadium, they’ve spent dozens of others away from the crowds, working on their craft with only their pride and someone to shag balls for them in an otherwise empty gym.
So you wouldn’t think playing games this season in 20,000-seat arenas with no fans in the stands would be a big deal.
But, somehow, it will be different.
Many NBA teams, including the Mavericks, will not allow fans in the preseason. That very well may change at some point. The Mavs released a statement Friday saying as much.
“We are optimistic that we will be able to welcome fans back to AAC this season but want to make sure we do so in the safest way possible,” Mavs CEO Cynt Marshall said. “Unfortunately, having looked closely at the current data, trends and historical spikes, we cannot risk our fans’ safety, which is in the best interest of our community.”
As for the regular season?
“Since we have until the 30th (of December) for our home opener, we will wait to announce anything for that game,” owner Mark Cuban said.
But in the preseason, it will be just two teams whispering in their huddle during timeouts.
“It’ll be different,” said new Mavericks’ swingman Josh Richardson, who experienced a taste of fan-less NBA action with Philadelphia in the bubble a few months ago. “We won’t be in small gyms playing games with just us in there. We’re going to be in arenas now. And from what I know, until further notice, they’re going to be empty.
“They’re going to be giant arenas with just us in there. So that’ll be interesting. It’ll probably be a little weird shooting. I think it’s going to come down to whoever can adjust the best and fastest.”
The Mavericks and 21 other teams got a taste of the empty gyms in the NBA restart. But those were cracker-box gyms that only hold a fraction of the people that an NBA arena can accommodate.
That’s why this will be so different.
Then again, these are NBA players who have dealt with many distractions and unusual circumstances during their career.
“It’s going to be pretty weird,” Kristaps Porzingis said. “But when I was in Sevilla (playing in Europe), we practiced in the same arena we used to play in. So we kind of got used to it.
“I’m used to playing in an empty arena where you can hear all the echoes from the ball bouncing and all that. For me, it’s not going to be that difficult to adapt. And for all of us, it’s not that big of a deal. We’re all professional.
“There’s many more things that are way worse for people out there than us playing in an empty gym. I think we’ll all get used to it.”
And, as Porzingis said, there may be fans in the stands at some point, which will be a welcomed return to some sense of normalcy when it happens.
The NBA, like much of the rest of the world, is at the mercy of the virus. They can’t plan on anything long term. The roll-out of a vaccine, spikes in the virus and unpredictable things in the future could all impact when fans eventually return to arenas.
Coach Rick Carlisle said this week that players, coaches and staff have to be prepared for things that just can’t be planned for.
For now, it’s a matter of adjusting to 20,000-seat arenas with nobody in them.
“Even if the gyms weren’t big and there was nobody in there, it would still be weird just because I feel like 60 percent of the game is the fans and the energy that (they’re) bringing,” said Willie Cauley-Stein. “Coming in as a collective group and bringing your own energy and thriving in those moments is a challenge in itself.”
But it’s still just basketball.
“With this group, it’s fun,” Cauley-Stein said. “We got people in this group that are the biggest kids and they make the practices fun. They make everything fun. I think it’s going to be a good season. For us, it’s going to be fun, regardless of if there’s fans in there or not. We’re going to bring the energy for what we have to do.”
Twitter: @ESefko
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