“There’s Still Ton Of Concerns”: Blazers Star Carmelo Anthony Reveals His Fear of Competing in the Orlando Bubble

We are going to witness live NBA action in a little over a month. Though there will be no fans present at the Disney World Resort in Orlando, several games will be televised. For the Portland Trail Blazers and Carmelo Anthony, there is a mild chance of making it to the playoffs, provided if they do extremely well in their eight remaining games. 

However, it won’t be a cakewalk for the Blazers. In fact, the 22 teams that will be traveling to Orlando will have a challenging time ahead. It is a never-before unique experience and players will need time to adjust to all of it. 

Carmelo Anthony thinks that life in the bubble is certainly going to be hard, but it will be the duty of the players to adapt to the situation and carry with playing ball. “You just have the emotional aspect with going down there,” Melo said, as per Jamie Hudson of NBC Sports Northwest. “Guys may not want to go down there, but we’re going down and I’m sure guys gonna be thinking about that as well. No family, no this, no that.”

“So it’s so many things that’s coming into play that guy’s is going to have to deal with,” he further added. “But I think this is going to make everything stronger, because if we don’t get this right, then this puts a dent in sports in America and all over the world, because everybody is looking at the NBA to see how this is going to play out.”

What pushed Carmelo Anthony to participate in the NBA’s restart despite several concerns?

Many NBA stars have opted out of competing in the Orlando bubble citing various reasons. A few players have directly been affected by COVID-19 which has made them extremely cautious about entering a state like Florida, which has been seeing a drastic increase in the number of people affected by the virus. 

Likewise, Carmelo Anthony had his own set of concerns about entering the bubble. But, an overwhelming love for the game of basketball drove Melo to declare his availability to participate. 

“Basketball at the end of the day, wanting to play, wanting to get back on the court — that’s my personal motivation,” Melo expressed. “So that is kind of what I’ve been, not forcing myself, but challenging myself to think that way, as opposed to thinking about all the negatives and the questions about going to a situation like that.” 

“As a human there’s still tons of concerns…The unknown of how this is going to play out. The pressures of this working… Everybody has concerns about what’s going to happen,” Melo continued.  “How everything is going to transpire because we just don’t know what’s going to happen.”

As of now, the league would be expecting everything to run in a smooth manner and as per plan. The Blazers will be leaving for Orlando on Thursday. When the season restarts, Damian Lillard and the team would look to get the better of every opponent they face. The Blazers have to make the most of what they have got to fulfill their hopes of making it to the postseason.