‘There isn’t too much bonding’: Kyle Kuzma talks about how the league’s health and safety protocols might hurt the Lakers’ championship bid.
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A good player could win games for a team. But it takes a good team to win championships. The defending NBA champions Los Angeles Lakers have great players as well as are a great unit altogether.
It takes great team chemistry to win matches. This chemistry is formed mostly off the court when players spend their time with their teammates. The 2019 Lakers team definitely had great mutual respect and camaraderie amongst each other, translating into an NBA title.
Amid the rise in COVID-19 cases, the league has set some rigorous health and safety protocols to keep the players, staff and referees safe from the deadly virus. Kyle Kuzma of the Lakers thinks that these safety measures could be the reason to threaten the team and their chemistry. Kyle said:
“Obviously it still is a mental toll. Everybody is locked away in their rooms and it’s still a pandemic out here. That’s not an excuse to lose at all, but just every day, human life, yeah, for sure, it’s always going to be a mental toll. There’s not too much bonding. Obviously, the NBA has very, very strict regulations to keep everyone safe. Obviously, we have our little contact-tracing bells, and just being safe and being precautions.”
Kyle Kuzma talks about how the virus can affect the team’s performance
This season is obviously different than normal. Many players will be missing out on games because of the league’s protocols. In order to be safe, no player can get special treatment. Losing a player for a few games also could make a huge difference for any team.
Well, luckily for the Lakers COVID hasn’t stopped their star players to sit out any games yet. Kuzma thinks that having the virus outbreak in the team could have a major impact. He also added:
“You see a team like Washington have to postpone games, six, seven, eight people in the organization (getting infected), that would hurt you. Especially if you have championship aspirations. This season is much different because every game kind of matters when you’re talking about seeding.
“Having an outbreak, especially in the West, could be the difference between finishing 2 and 6. And hopefully, we don’t get to that point, but we kind of just are professional about it and stay safe and keep it simple.”
The Lakers are currently at a good 3rd position in the Western Conference, having a 16-6 record. Hopefully, they’ll manage to get through all the difficulties together and improve on their off-court chemistry.
