SALT LAKE CITY — For at least a little while, things were back to normal for the Utah Jazz on Thursday.
Players were focused, there was ball movement with four or five passes going from corner to corner and no one had his hands on his knees because of fatigue.
In short, Jazz basketball was happening for the first time in four months, at least the way point guard Mike Conley saw the opening portion of the team’s practice Thursday inside the NBA’s “bubble” at the Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando — its first time all together on the court since March — as head coach Quin Snyder allowed the group to just play for a while.
“Guys, obviously there’s going to be a little bit of rust here and there just with timing, but guys had great energy. Guys came back in shape,” Conley told reporters after the practice via Zoom, mentioning the lack of visible fatigue and the connectivity during play. “It’s exciting. It’s exciting to see the guys just kind of be here and be ready from Day 1.”
Added All-Star center Rudy Gobert: “I think it felt great. It felt great to be back out there. I felt like everyone was really locked in. Everything was really positive and we just went right through it. It was a long practice, but I think Coach did a great job talking to us and kind of making sure we get our good habits back on point. It’s going to be a process, but I really like the mindset that we had today.”
That period of normalcy, of course, came after nearly 48 hours that were very out of the ordinary. After arriving at the team hotel Tuesday night, everyone was quarantined until registering two negative coronavirus tests. Once released Thursday, the group went immediately to the training room to get taped for practice, Conley said. They then had a short meeting and practice commenced.
As such, no one really had a chance to check out what will be their surroundings for the next few months, something Conley said the group was eager to do.
“I know guys are anxious just to get out of the room and get some fresh air and look around a little bit, see what’s going on,” he said.
Of course, besides the basketball component of the next few months, the concept of getting used to the environment will surely be a big factor in the experience. As Conley put it, “I think this whole situation that we’re in right now is just who is going to adjust quickest and not make excuses and go out there and make do with what we’ve got.”
In that vein, both Snyder and Conley stressed the importance of team unity, perhaps more than ever before.
“I think everybody’s glad to be together a little bit again and connect,” Snyder said. “I felt the same way even being on the plane together. We have a good group, guys that have some relationships. I think really the whole time we’re here, just kind of support one another and control the things that we can control.”
Added Conley: “It is unique in the sense that we’re going to be in the same place for so long and around the same people in such a bubble type of atmosphere, but it’s new for everybody, so I think we’re all just going try to take it in stride together and figure it out together.”
Snyder feels that the platform the NBA will have to promote conversations about social justice and allow people to watch basketball again will be worth the sacrifices players, coaches and others are making.
“In general, I think there’s an appreciation on the part of the players, and I know the coaches, but particularly the players, that although this is a sacrifice, there’s opportunities to do some good things,” Snyder said, “and I think everybody is aware of what those sacrifices are that players are making ... to do something that I think is bigger than all of us and bigger than basketball in many ways.”