It’s been a week since the Thunder relocated to Orlando for the resumption of the 2019-20 season, and the team has gotten more than a couple practices under its belt.
On Tuesday, head coach Billy Donovan and reserve guard Dennis Schroder met with reporters via video conference and reflected on the team’s progress over their first week in the bubble.
The video was shared by the Thunder on the team’s Twitter feed.
“I don’t know if there’s anything that you can do to prepare yourself for something like this because nobody has ever gone through this, and I’m sure after this is over with, there will be plenty of things I’m sure I will look back upon as a coach and sure the players will look back upon as players and say ‘Okay, maybe we could have done this differently, or could have done that better,'” Donovan said when asked for his initial reflection and whether the team has adapted well to their new environment.
Obviously, no other team has gone through anything like this before, and the head coach keeps that in perspective.
“I think that’s gonna happen because you don’t have any level of experience or anything to really reflect back on of how you wanna handle it, so we’re all kinda going through this together. But the biggest thing that I think is important in this kind of situation with the unknown is can you stay connected, can you stay upbeat, can you lift each other up, can you support each other and when we’re in between the lines can we get better as a team. Those are the things I think we have control over and the guys up to this point in time have done a really good job of that.”
All together.
Coach Donovan and Dennis Schröder reflect on week one in the bubble and what the team needs to do moving forward. pic.twitter.com/DxF3OkLPIm
— OKC THUNDER (@okcthunder) July 15, 2020
Dennis Schroder shared his thoughts, as well. The sixth man revealed that he would be leaving the Orlando bubble in a few weeks for the birth of his second child, so at this point, the length of his stay — and whether he will return — is uncertain.
What is certain, however, is the fact that Schroder has enjoyed being reunited with his teammates and his belief that they have a chance to contend.
“The last week’s been pretty good. I think everybody’s coming back, getting in shape, we played before — a little pickup,” he said.
“I think the chemistry is still there, everybody is helping each other. We try to get to a stage where when the playoffs start, we’re ready for it.”