As the old adage goes, people are creatures of habit. That’s doubly true for NBA players, who live and breathe a highly structured lifestyle.
The unpredictable nature of the COVID-19 era, then, has completely disrupted those usual patterns, pulling players in and out of health and safety protocols, yanking them from in-rhythm stretches and making it difficult to establish long-term flow on the floor.
Currently, there are over 50 players in the protocols, with that number rising exceptionally quickly as each day passes.
One player who just returned from isolation, however, is Precious Achiuwa, who had been held out of the Toronto Raptors’ previous four games for that reason.
“It was good to be out there,” Achiuwa told reporters. “Being able to play again, I’ve been out. Little bit of shoulder tendonitis and then isolation, so I’ve been out for quite some time but it was good to be out there again. I’m getting my lungs back, getting back into game shape.”
Achiuwa looked excellent in his return, his energy and defensive acumen a welcome addition to the Raptors’ constantly fluctuating bench. He dropped 17 points and five rebounds on the decimated Golden State Warriors Saturday, playing just 23 minutes in a blowout victory.
But perhaps even more intriguing than his strong performance was Achiuwa’s post-game revelation about how he spent his extra time during his isolation period, with his typical schedule entirely thrown off.
“I cooked,” the Raptors talent said. “I did that. I ain’t cooked in so long. Finally I cooked for a little bit, I was home. Binge watched a lot of shows, watched a lot of movies. I had to get real creative in my house.
“I’m very diverse. I’m a chef. Not just the milk and the Oreos thing, trust. I’m not just a snack specialist. I’m all around the place and I can do a lot of things.”
Of course, while the matter of players having their agendas displaced certainly demands some level of concern, there is a larger understanding that health (particularly long-term health) needs to remain at the forefront of everyone’s minds as the pandemic continues to bear down.
“We just gotta do what we gotta do to make sure everybody stays safe,” Precious Achiuwa said, “especially right now with the way the virus is going across the league and the nation. We just gotta do our best to make sure everybody’s safe and stay healthy.”