Utah Jazz star shooting guard Donovan Mitchell will soon suit up again after nearly a five-month hiatus of the 2019-20 NBA season. The Jazz guard tested positive for the coronavirus the day after the season came to a halt, but is now ready to tackle the restart in Orlando after a long layoff.
The timing, locale, arenas, and environment will be different during the Jazz's stay in Orlando, but Mitchell knows it will be a drastically distinct experience without the fans once play starts. The recently minted All-Star guard explained how:
“You’re just going to get an open gym kind of vibe for a fan experience,” said Mitchell, according to Dana Greene of ABC4 Sports. “I don’t know what the NBA has planned for TV, but as far as being in the arena, I think you’re really going to see what guys talk about in an open gym. Honestly, everybody is so worried about the trash talking, but there’s really a lot of just jokes being made on the floor.”
The league has teased the potential use of artificial noise to make up for the empty arenas, though those kinks are still being finalized.
Coaches and referees have shown concern about the use of foul language, which is at times customary during regular play. The league will make use of a slight tape delay to err on the side of caution.
Inside jokes will be hard to grasp at first, though they could lead to some fun questions postgame and a lot of new insight into players' relationships.
It will be an odd experience for all involved, but maybe, just maybe, that uniqueness will make this resumption of the 2019-20 NBA season quite a memorable one. The time inside the bubble has already been quite eventful, and we're just over a week in.
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