One of The Safest Places In America Is In The Middle of a COVID-19 Hotbed.
There’s plenty to digest when it comes to the 2020 NBA playoffs, especially after the Game 1 action. Donovan Mitchell, Luka Doncic and LeBron James provided historic games in losses, the Magic and Blazers are Twitter picks to reach the NBA Finals and the referees still have trash moments (that last point was for Kristaps Porzingis.) It’s an amazing pie I will later delve into, but admiring the handiwork of the bubble is what I’m here for with this entry.
According to an article written by ESPN Senior Writer Brian Windhorst, sources said operating the Walt Disney World resort in Orlando, Fla. would cost the NBA more than $150 million — housing 22 teams, the coaching staff, setting up arenas for games, meals, security, transportation, entertainment and daily testing. It seemed like a tall order for more than 1,500 people and skepticism was high, especially after the MLB and NFL had sporadic issues with games and practices.
It’s safe to say the bubble has worked early on.
Now, anything can happen between now and when this story is published. The NBA has not played around with its laurels and everyone has been protected in the process. Since the first games being played July 30, there have been zero positive cases across the entire complex. As fans, we get to enjoy the games without incident. As players, they know COVID-19 won’t be a titanic issue for them in Orlando (although there are family members outside of the bubble who have dealt with the effects.)
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What does this mean down the road? It’s tough to say. As we continue to learn about the virus, a strong survival rate certainly pushes us in a positive direction. All I know is that Florida has the most cases in the nation (579,932 confirmed with 9,893 deaths as of Wednesday morning according to Yahoo News). Orange County has the fifth-most cases and eighth-most deaths (33,709 and 352 respectively). The NBA is still on and we should have a 2020 champion.
Game on.
