Like many teams, the Los Angeles Lakers pride themselves on a family-oriented atmosphere with veterans like Danny Green in the mix. It should come as no surprise that this particular structure can be challenging to those that are holding things together in and outside of the game. Even LeBron James hinted at some of these roadblocks and issues when playing in seeding games. The bubble’s lights are not as dim as many believed.
Green has certainly picked up steam as of late with his usual stellar defense and shooting. He’s currently 40 percent from three in this first-round series against the Portland Trail Blazers, up from 25 percent in the seven seeding games. Green was well aware of his struggles and spoke with the media about those contributing factors (Silver Screen and Roll’s Harrison Faigen).
Danny Green was incredibly candid about what makes the bubble tough, and it's why I can never get behind all the "We NeEd To BuLlY tHeM tO pLaY wElL" tweets.
They're human beings, isolated from their families during a pandemic. They don't need you @-ing them after bad games pic.twitter.com/Tt7kQMWV8c
— Harrison Faigen (@hmfaigen) August 28, 2020
Green’s feelings are completely relatable. Imagine a tough day at work to come home to a timeline full of memes about all your office miscues. After the trips to the player’s lounge, fishing, and general day-to-day basketball stuff, that makes up your life in the bubble. Your device is your connection to family and the fans. The downside is that all of the fans aren’t going to pat players on the back. Compound this with the reduced opportunities to fully decompress and you get the anxiety that both Green and Paul George discussed.
Green’s perspective leads me to wonder if the players are receiving the appropriate mental health support within the bubble. Players may likely have their own therapist or exercises that they can access within their means. As the playoffs continue and situations are sure to increase in tension, these scenarios will warrant keeping an eye on.
