“Us guys are size 14-15, so it’s hard to put all of your shoes in one or two bags,” related Boston Celtics veteran guard Marcus Smart via team reporter Taylor Snow Tuesday.
The number of shoes one can fit in a suitcase is a relevant topic given the Celtics are just a day away of traveling to the Wide World of Sports Complex in Lake Buena Vista, Florida that will serve as Disney’s NBA campus over the next few months.
Depending on how well a team does in the reconstituted 2019-20 season to be held in what has been called the ‘Orlando bubble,’ players could find themselves isolated until mid-October.
.@smart_MS3: "Us guys are size 14-15, so it's hard to put all of your shoes in one or two bags."
Size-22 @tackofall99: pic.twitter.com/bs5Ko86NWj
— Taylor Snow (@taylorcsnow) July 7, 2020
So, speaking with beat reporters remotely at Auerbach Center, Boston’s state-of-the-art practice facilities, the Flower Mound native alluded to the many challenges ahead of the team as they embark on the long-haul trip to the NBA’s single-site solution to holding a season in the midst of a pandemic.
And to be honest, packing sneakers is one of the mildest challenges facing the roster. “There’s still that unknown that worries a lot of guys,” he explained, referencing the virus he himself contracted in March.
“It really scared me because no one really knows the extent of this virus,” he offered via The Athletic’s Jared Weiss. “So who is to say that even now that I have the antibodies, the virus is gone, how is this going to affect me in the long-run five years from now?”
One of the first cases after the Utah Jazz’ Rudy Gobert’s positive test sparked the NBA’s four-month hiatus, Smart donated his plasma to help others who came down with the virus, and plans to again, per the Athletic’s Jay King.
Marcus Smart: "I encourage anyone that if you have the antibodies to go donate, because you don't know whose lives you might change."
— Taylor Snow (@taylorcsnow) July 7, 2020
He encouraged others to follow his example. “I encourage anyone that if you have the antibodies to go donate, because you don’t know whose lives you might change,” he related via team reporter Taylor Snow. Smart shared that the process was easy, taking a little over an hour with no pain.
Even with the risks, the Texan defensive specialist is ready to get back on the court with his teammates; “We’re all ready to go and play,” he explained via the team. “Being without basketball for so long has been hard on us.”
Despite the urge to get back on the court, the former No. 6 pick isn’t looking at the ordeal ahead as a breeze though. “You have to be mentally strong for this,” he explained.
Marcus Smart wants NBA owners to speak up about social justice. "Those are voices that need to be heard." Said they will reach other people who need to hear it.
— Adam Himmelsbach (@AdamHimmelsbach) July 7, 2020
Speaking of Jayson Tatum, Smart was effusive, praising the wing’s growth, particularly on defense. “I think that he’s on the right track to becoming if not the best player, one of the best players to ever [play] this game.”
One of the Celtics who have been most involved in the protests arising after the killing of George Floyd, Smart hoped team governors would add their voices to the fray as teams play in the ‘bubble’; “Those are the voices that need to be heard,” he related via the Boston Globe’s Adam Himmelsbach.
Less than a day away from their journey to the Disney NBA campus, we will soon begin to say how this mesh of concerns over the safety of the ‘bubble’ interact with its potential as a platform for greater good.
And with the start of scrimmages on July 24th, we’ll see who is prepared to make a run at the title — assuming things go as planned, of course.
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