When the Portland Trail Blazers commence their trip to Orlando on Thursday, a lot will be riding on the team. The Blazers would look to make it to the NBA playoffs by somehow clinching the eighth spot from the Grizzlies. Even for an experienced veteran like Carmelo Anthony, competing in the bubble would definitely be a challenge. 

In a recent piece by Jamie Hudson of NBC Sports Northwest, the author published Melo’s views on competing in the bubble, the challenges the teams might face, and the idea of playing without fans.

The 36-year-old Trail Blazers star is ready to help his teammates when they enter the Disney World Resort not knowing what to expect. Of course, it is going to be a massive challenge for everyone entering the bubble, but Melo’s towering experience in the league might give him a slight edge of processing it better than the young players.

“I’m trying to make the best out of this situation and I don’t know how, but I’m going to make the best out of this situation — if that’s me gathering the guys under protocol and talking and keeping the conversations going, I’m going to do that,” Melo said.

“We’ve never experienced anything like this before. The way I perceive this and the way that a younger player in this league will perceive it will be totally different,” he continued. “They may not know what to expect. They may not know how to handle this. This is going to be a stressful situation for everybody.”

Carmelo Anthony compares the Orlando bubble to the Olympic village

Carmelo Anthony has a lot of experience playing in the Olympics. Melo has won a bronze and three gold medals by representing his country’s basketball team. He holds the record of being the only American basketball player to participate in four straight Olympic games.

Thus, Melo knows what’s it like to be inside a closed bubble. However, the Olympic village is drastically different from what the NBA players will be experiencing in Orlando. Melo knows that as well.

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Everybody’s gonna be tested mentally. Everybody will be tested emotionally,” Melo said. “It’s going to be a lot of things that’s going on still while we’re down there in the world that we’re going to be paying attention to. So everybody is gonna have their own thing that they’re doing and messaging that they have. But, it will be almost a Olympic Village style — all the athletes is just in one place.”

But life in the bubble will not be as glamorous as it will be in the Olympic village. Moreover, there aren’t going to be any fans to cheer their teams during challenging times. Hence, it will definitely be testing times for the players. Suiting up and giving your 100% in an empty arena just won’t be the same and that is a fact. 

“We as athletes, we rely on the fans to get momentum, and that’s how you make runs, and that’s how you get back in the game with your fans,” the 10x All-Star said. “Guys is not going to have that, so you’re going to be tested to see how motivated you are as an individual. How much self-motivation you have to go out there and get yourself going and motivated to go play in front of no one. So you have that aspect.”