How is your preparation going in the bubble?
As with the French team. There are eight teams in the hotel. You run into them, etc… I’m with the Celtics guys all the time. For now, it’s not too boring. Especially since the competition will start quite quickly. You get used to it.
How was your arrival in the bubble?
We arrived on July 8th. We got tested directly and we all went to our rooms. We had to stay in our rooms for 36 to 48 hours. They brought our food to the door at set times. We got tested again the next night. Once we had both negative results, we were able to walk around campus.
What are the activities on campus?
We have a concierge service that allows you to book activities on the site. You can go fishing, golf, and the pool is also open. We have bicycles available. They try to offer us a program where you have several choices. There is a games room on the top floor, with card games or video games. If you’re a guy who loves video games, you bring all your gear like me. I brought everything back, including my PlayStation. The advantage is that I am not the only one to have done it. There’s Rudy (Gobert), Evan (Fournier) and other guys who play too. So it allows us to play among ourselves.
How do you keep in touch with your families?
We have a lot of free time because the room is not available 24 hours a day. We have three-hour slots during the day and a half-hour session in the evening. If you train at 9 am, you quickly have nothing to do all day. It allows you to do your business, to call your family. Me, my wife, I have him on the phone every day anyway. I call my mom too.
How is it going to be for you just as your wife is about to give birth? Will you be able to get out and re-enter the bubble?
So far I have yet to talk about this. I’m going to go see the guy from the NBPA (Players Union – NBA Players Association) today to talk about it, to find out a bit about how it’s going. The delivery of a baby is not a safe date. If it happens tomorrow, what are we going to do? I have plenty of questions like that to ask him. I’ll see it with him. But normally, you can leave the bubble. For cases like that, when you come back afterwards, you leave for around four-day quarantine. It’s the same every time. I think when you come back in the bubble, you have to have both negative test results to be re-integrated. You imagine? You play the play-offs, you cannot be absent for 14 days. It is complicated. Afterwards I don’t know if I could come back. It will all depend on how the delivery goes. Of course, I won’t leave my wife if things go wrong. I think that it will be done in a week: the time that I go, that I stay a little with her and the child.
How does the health aspect work in the bubble?
We are tested every day. We have time slots to get tested. It takes five minutes. They take our first and last name and we take the test. Beyond that, wearing a mask is mandatory. There are signs every ten meters to remind us. We have hydroalcoholic gel available every ten meters also for washing hands. We must respect social distancing: stay two meters from each other. Everything is done to make it secure. I think everyone is big enough in this bubble to understand that we shouldn’t be cuddling.
No player has shown fear?
No, I don’t think so, there is no fear. In reality, no one wants to catch it. The bubble is relatively tight. There have been no cases so far.
Is it true that the NBA has set up a hotline to denounce people who do not respect the health protocol?
I do not know. To be honest, I don’t even have the hotline number! (laughs) If there are any teammates who are dumb enough to swing, it’s because they’re not good teammates. I don’t know why they put it on. Basically, they ask you to rock your mate. In any case, I wouldn’t call the hotline.
Are you not bored every day?
No, it’s okay. I’m not picky, either. I’m quite a homebody as a type. Once I finish my training, either I do my care or I hold in front of the PlayStation. Time flies relatively quickly in reality.
You do swimming competitions with your teammates apparently?
Yes! I hadn’t done much for five days. I said to myself: ‘Come on let’s go to the pool! We’re gonna go do some stuff. ‘ You know, there are always those who have felt their wings grow. (laughs) I had to show them no! (laughs)
In terms of the game, where are the Celtics? Do you feel ready to face the playoffs?
We see good things in training anyway. We see that there are automatisms, that it plays well. We also see that there is envy. There is this mentality that we have to push each other. It’s coming back little by little, after three months off. This is a good omen. We will be ready!
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