In the NBA’s so-called, “bubble,” environment, created to stave off the possibility of COVID-19 infection, that job has gained in importance. Haslem understood quickly that for the Heat, throughout the NBA restart, there would be two opponents: whomever the team was facing, and the repetitive grind of the bubble situation. “Some people are going to lose to the bubble before they even step on the basketball court,” Haslem said. “It is my job as the captain of my team to make sure my guys are prepared to step on the basketball court every day. They have to defeat the bubble situation before they even take a shot or play a minute.”