From JLew1050: Raptors thinking outside the bubble to make team feel at home. MORE:
TORONTO – The Toronto Raptors were the first NBA team to arrive in Florida. They travelled to Naples on June 22 and trained in nearby Fort Myers for a couple weeks before relocating to the league’s Disney bubble on July 9, and they’re hoping to be there a while.
Living in such an unusual and emotionally-trying environment for an extended period of time won’t be easy, but the Raptors are doing their part to make their players, coaches and team personnel feel a little bit more at home. The idea spawned from the team’s"family first wall" back in Toronto. When you walk into the Raptors’ locker room at Scotiabank Arena, one of the first things you’ll notice is the giant collage of family photos on the wall immediately to the left. Just about everybody in the organization – from top to bottom – is represented. They’ve had a variation of it up there for years.
It came together quickly. It needed to. The NBA granted teams advanced access to set up all of their rooms in the bubble a week before arrivals, but each organization had a 24-hour window and could only send two representatives. If the Raptors were going to execute their plan they had to get it done in just a couple of days.
Having a couple photos on their dresser won’t exactly make up for all of the things they’re going to miss, or have already missed being away from their families. Lowry had to wish his son a happy fifth birthday over FaceTime on Wednesday. For Oshae Brissett, holding his two-month-old daughter again will have to wait until he gets back.has two kids under three at home. Nick Nurse has two under four. However, the gesture reinforces that they’re all in this together.
It’s the small details that make a difference. With communications director Jennifer Quinn taking the lead, the team has"Raptorized" their entire hotel floor, decorating the hallway with team paraphernalia, including"We The North" banners and a giant mural of the Toronto skyline.
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