Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James has admitted he’s considered leaving the NBA’s bubble. The veteran forward scored 36 points in L.A’s win over the Portland Trail Blazers on Saturday night, one that saw the latter eliminated from the playoffs. And, following the 131-122 victory, he told reporters he has thought about leaving Orlando on a number of occasions (via Washington Post’s Ben Golliver).
LeBron made sure to point out that the recent boycotts and postponements of games in the wake of Jacob Blake’s shooting has nothing to do with his thoughts on wanting to get out of the bubble.
James, 36, is hardly the only NBA player who’s been feeling the pressure of being cooped up inside the Disney compound. The teams still in the playoffs have spent more than 50 days inside so far and the situation has been far from ideal.
“You forget that being in the bubble is hard,” Los Angeles Clippers head coach Doc Rivers said recently. “And even some of that came up [during the meeting]. I knew it was hard, but listening to some of these guys speak, just mental awareness, we got to be a little sharper on that as well.”
The bubble should consist of just eight teams pretty soon, which should help in that regard. While LeBron and his teammates wait on their next opponents, the Clippers will look to close out their 3-2 series with the Dallas Mavericks today.
The Clippers are the 5/1 favorites to win Sunday’s match-up, with the Mavs at 15/4. Fans looking for the best odds on the NBA playoffs could find reviews to help them with their bookmaker selections at bestsportsbooks.co.
Monday will also throw up what should turn out to be two exciting contests. The Miami Heat (7/4) will open their second-round series against the Milwaukee Bucks (2/5), while the Houston Rockets (2/5) will also be looking to close their 3-2 series with the Oklahoma City Thunder (15/8).
