Lillard doubts that all players will follow bubble rules
Damian Lillard's Portland Trail Blazers have their work cut out for them; when the NBA season restarts on July 30 with an eight-game seeding phase, the ninth-seeded Blazers will be focused on staying within four games of the No. 8 seed Memphis Grizzlies - close enough to trigger play-in games - and ahead of the four teams below Portland in the Western Conference standings.
However, Lillard doubts that all of his fellow NBA players will be so single-minded, and he suggested they could test the sanctity of the league's so-called campus environment at Walt Disney World.
"My confidence ain't great," Lillard said with a laugh Wednesday, according to ESPN's Royce Young. "My confidence ain't great because you're telling me you're gonna have 22 teams full of players following all the rules? When we have 100 percent freedom, everybody don't follow all the rules.
"I don't have much confidence. But hopefully it'll be handled to a point where we're not putting everybody at risk or in a dangerous position."
The NBA will reportedly provide some on-campus entertainment, including video games, DJ sets, ping pong, and billiards, and players will have access to amenities such as barbers and manicurists.
Lillard says he plans to keep things low-key when he isn't playing or practicing.
"I'm gonna have my PS3, my PS4, I'm gonna have my studio equipment, my mic, my laptop, I'm gonna have all my books," Lillard said. "That's it, man. I'm gonna be in the room, chilling."
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