Day 11 without the NBA and Chicago Bulls basketball saw a number of obvious questions about players and hurdles facing them during the hiatus.
Now getting close to two weeks without having any NBA game action, Chicago Bulls fans have to be wanting something to follow for more entertainment. But dealing with the precautions surrounding the spread of the novel coronavirus is becoming a part of everyday life in the United States, even for basketball fans at the moment.
The good news for Bulls fans is that there are plenty of good memories of great teams to look back on during this NBA hiatus. NBC Sports Chicago continues to re-air the 1996 title run for the Bulls after the infamous memo from all-time great shooting guard Michael Jordan, claiming that he was officially “back”.
That 1995-96 Bulls team was one of the greats and provided the upmost confidence in the fan base and so much entertainment value. But that Bulls team is a long way removed from the team that the fans in the Windy City are dealing with in the current season that is now placed on pause.
On March 22, the Bulls are facing a dozen day stint since their last game and the NBA is now in its 11th day without game action. Here’s a look at what is happening around the NBA and with the Bulls individually well into the hiatus of the 2019-20 season.
What’s happening around the NBA and with the Bulls
Questions surrounding players staying in shape during the hiatus
A common question that was going to loom large during the NBA hiatus was how players would be able to stay in shape in however long this pause would last. In the “Ask Sam Mailbag” with Bulls reported Sam Smith on March 20, he dove a bit deeper on the case of this team’s status during the hiatus.
"The Bulls like most (or all, I think) closed their practice facilities and players went to their homes like the rest of us. Some went back to their offseason residences, I believe. I suppose they might be running in place. But it’s going to be difficult for all sports getting back on its feet as it’s difficult to believe many players will be in game shape. So there’ll have to be all sorts of spring training/training camps that are apparently so much in the distance it’s not the time to even consider that now."
There’s a pretty insane workout that Los Angeles Lakers superstar forward LeBron James posted on his Instagram story over the weekend too. He doesn’t seem to be having a problem staying in shape during the hiatus.
https://twitter.com/PhotoAmy33/status/1241552404841029634?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1241552404841029634&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Ffansided.com%2F2020%2F03%2F21%2Fwatch-lebron-james-put-us-shame-saturday-home-workout%2F
Tik Tok taking over
The popular social media app Tik Tok is taking over for a lot NBA players while they have all this down time. LeBron released a video on both his Tik Tok and Instagram pages on March 22, latching onto this trend. Bulls small forward Chandler Hutchison is also getting more involved on Tik Tok of late.
https://www.instagram.com/p/B-C6OQEg2j0/
Gamers doing their thing
Bulls shooting guard Zach LaVine seems to be keeping himself entertained via the gaming route. He is about the most active Bulls player in the news cycle right now, between his meal donation, playing his dog one-on-one, and this gaming stream that emerged on March 22.
Zach LaVine rips a three-kill streak in @SLAMftw Call of Duty MW tournament, Meyers Leonard reacts:
— Rob Schaefer (@rob_schaef) March 22, 2020
“You know what that 3 reminds me of? That eyeball sandwich you hit in Charlotte, that’s what that reminds me of... I wasn’t even on your team and I was going crazy!” pic.twitter.com/h0FxdctN5X
The Nike campaign
Nike recently got involved in the campaign to advocate for social distancing, with an ad that is being spread around by professional athletes in force. Bulls power forward Lauri Markkanen posted that message from Nike during the COVID-19 outbreak on his Instagram page on March 21.
NBA reliving Zach’s 49 points and game-winner
https://twitter.com/NBA/status/1241799308502073344
The NBA Twitter timeline is being filled up with various player videos and highlight reruns as everyone is dealing with the quarantine to prevent the spread of COVID-19. But one of the special highlight replays on the NBA’s Twitter page on March 22 included LaVine’s 49 points and game-winning three-point shot against the Charlotte Hornets earlier this season.