Boston Celtics team president Danny Ainge is enjoying the ESPN Michael Jordan documentary series “The Last Dance” like the rest of us in the absence of sport-
But, is also itching to get back to the real thing along with us as well, according to recent comments he made on the “Lowe Post” podcast — also produced by the Worldwide Leader.
Speaking on a host of subjects, Ainge and the host Zach Lowe soon turned to the topic of restarting the NBA season.
The Celtics head honcho shared some details about where Boston is in the process of taking up the NBA on its slackening of restrictions on the use of practice facilities in municipalities that have lifted or relaxed stay-at-home orders for the pandemic.
The league has banned use of team facilities since mid-March.
“Massachusetts has been one of the slowest in opening things up. Our next phase is, we’ll open up our facility. We’re hoping to do it next week,” began Ainge.
“It’s 1-on-1 … one coach, one player. Coaches with masks and gloves. Players in the gym, disinfect the gym. I don’t think anybody’s afraid of that. If I said we’re two or three weeks away from playing, I’m sure there would be some players that would have some trepidation.”
“I think everybody’s just really anxious to play right now. That’s what I think,” he added.
While there have been rumbles that players on teams with little to play for in terms of a postseason are understandably less keen on returning to play out the remainder of the 2019-20 regular season, Ainge hasn’t heard such opinions from his own players.
“These are the times that we play for,” he explained. “It’s almost like we just played 60 games and it doesn’t mean anything. I think that I would like to finish the season. I think most of the players, if not all the players, would like to finish the season and move on to next year.”
While there is a not-small chance the league goes directly to a postseason format of some kind, and a chance the rest of the season — playoffs and all — are canceled entirely, there has been growing optimism some sort of a finish will at least be attempted in the coming weeks and months.
But for now, all we can do is wait — and at least this weekend — watch “The Last Dance”.
