Mental health 'critical' to avoiding bubble trouble

Likewise, Beal said living in the bubble will hardly be "a walk in the park".

"We can't just leave. We can't just order whatever food we want. We can't just do activities we want to do. We can't go to our teammates' rooms," Beal said. "You're restricted, and you can't do the things that you're normally used to doing."

The Pelicans' mental health and wellness program is led by team psychologist Jenna Rosen, and New Orleans general manager David Griffin calls it "critical".

"Let's not kid ourselves. This quarantine situation is going to be very difficult," Griffin said. "We will work through mindfulness training with Jenna literally every day. ... It's going to be about who can keep themselves in the best frame of mind, quite frankly."

Mental health has been a priority for the NBA and the NBPA, especially after players like Cleveland's Kevin Love and San Antonio's DeMar DeRozan opened up about their inner struggles.

DeRozan knows it won't be easy at Disney.

"It's tough," he said. "You're taking guys who've been with their families every single day for the last few months and all of a sudden separating everybody into this one confined space and taking away a lot of joyful things that we do outside of basketball."

Daniel Medina, the Wizards' chief of athletic care and performance, said some players are concerned that an interrupted season might make them more prone to injury, which could be career-altering to players with expiring contracts. Some have decided not to play, notably Indiana's Victor Oladipo.

Parham, who helped launch the NBPA's mental health program in 2018, expects many players to handle the resumption well. He noted that after three months of relative isolation at home, they should be eager to satisfy their appetite for competition.

Still, the unprecedented nature of the bubble, born out of a pandemic blamed for about a half-million deaths worldwide, will present challenges. Another issue, Parham said, is how the restart coincides with the political and social upheaval spawned by the death of George Floyd, a black man, while in police custody.

"Prior to COVID, and prior to these social justice demonstrations, there were sufficient daily distractions for people to not really even think about their stuff. They were just sort of on automatic pilot," Parham said. "You know what they say: A person will never see their reflection in running water. It is only when the water is still that their reflected image begins to emerge."

ASSOCIATED PRESS