The bubble creates mental mistakes

Great defense needs sharp thinking

BY DAVID THORPE

Paul George is an exceptional player, sometimes in the MVP conversation. But he opened this year’s playoffs stinking up the court. After several sub-par games, he courageously told the media last week that he has been struggling with the mental health challenges of being confined to a Disney campus, far from the healthy normalcy of home routines, relationships, and freedom. 

It is absolutely believable that mental health challenges of isolation could impair a basketball player. The brain is the sport’s most essential instrument. 

What has been on my mind since George’s public statements, however, is what he said next: “We're all dealing with it. I've had conversations with guys here, and there's been a couple guys that is like, man, I'm happy I'm not the only one. I've been dealing with this, too.”

One rotation player playing on the Disney campus called me after a playoff game saying something had happened in his brain, on the court, that had never happened before in his l…