For many members of the Agua Caliente Clippers just beginning play in the G League bubble, a span of 335 days separated Thursday’s single-site, season-opening loss to Grande Valley Vipers and their last official, professional basketball action.
Not so for Amir Coffey, the second-year two-way player who logged four minutes Feb. 3 in a victory for the NBA’s Clippers in Cleveland, his 16th appearance this NBA season. Coffey also participated in the NBA bubble last summer when the league returned to action after the coronavirus forced it to suspend play in March.
There was no G League bubble last season; the remainder of the developmental league’s season was canceled outright after it was initially suspended in March.
But now it’s back, having moved into the bubble framework established initially for the NBA at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex at Walt Disney World Resort in Lake Buena Vista, Florida.
And so Coffey finds himself back in the bubble, pleased to be getting additional reps with the G League affiliate (though not so enthusiastic about having to endure the familiar couple of days of quarantine that preceded play).
“It’s similar,” Coffey said via Zoom video conference Thursday, after scoring 14 points in the Agua Caliente Clippers’ 99-95 loss. “Same hotel, same gym, same practice courts, really the same, using the convention center, so, all the places are the same, the gyms are the same.
“It’s a new cast, new people, new players, coaches,” he noted, adding that the routine – and the purpose – isn’t so different. “I’ve been here before. But at the end of the day, you’ve gotta go out there and play and just leave it on the floor, but it helps just knowing where I’m at and being here before.”
The bubble thing a whole new experience, though, for Tyrone Wallace. The 26-year-old guard from Bakersfield played for the Atlanta Hawks last season after having split his time between the Clippers of L.A. and the Clippers of Ontario in 2017-18 and then playing almost entirely for the NBA team in 2018-19.
“Honestly, you don’t really get a real sense through TV,” Wallace said after scoring a team-high 18 points on 7-for-10 shooting in his bubble debut. “You just see guys playing on the court, you don’t really get a sense of the everyday life.”
He said he’s struck by how many people it takes to make the operation work, and that he appreciates the activities on-site to keep players entertained during their downtime.
But still, there’s no place like home – especially because he has two young sons whom he’s missing, he said.
“Definitely, that’s been the toughest, but I FaceTime every day and am able to see them,” he said. “Not being there with them has been a little rough, but they keep my spirits high when I see all their videos and stuff that my girl sends me.”
It’s just part of Daddy’s job, said Wallace, who is approaching this G League season away from loved ones and the outside world as an important business trip.
“My goal is to come here with a business mindset,” he said. “To come here, try to play as well as I can, help my team win with the goal to get back up, you know what I mean?. I think everybody, if you’re down here and you not tryin’ to play well to get up, then what are you really here for? So that’s definitely the goal.
“This is what I love to do,” he continued, “so these are the things that come with it. It’s a business first, always, so if you gotta go out there every day and try to take advantage of your opportunity, try to improve on your game and make yourself stick.”
OTURU SIDELINED
For now, Coffey is in Florida without Daniel Oturu, his former college teammate who also is a two-way player for the Clippers.
A rookie center who has appeared in 10 games this season for the Clippers, Oturu is in L.A. recovering from a quadriceps strain he suffered in practice earlier this week, Agua Caliente coach Paul Hewitt said Thursday.
Hewitt said he didn’t know how long Oturu would be out and that the Clippers’ decision-makers in L.A. would determine whether he’d return to the bubble.
GAME ONE – 02.11.21 AC Clippers #OnTheCourt pic.twitter.com/du7J4vWj25
— AguaCalienteClippers (@ACClippers) February 12, 2021
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