Did LeMickey and ADisney Really Win A Mickey Mouse Ring? Looking Back At The NBA Bubble

     Calling things "Mickey Mouse" has become my favorite thing to do. Something went wrong? Doesn't count because it was Mickey Mouse. The saying would not have become a thing if it weren't for the NBA bubble during the summer of 2020. After the NBA was shutdown due to Rudy Gobert (AKA Baguette Biyombo) being a dummy and the spread of COVID, Adam Silver decided to throw the teams that still had a chance at getting into the playoffs (22 teams) into Disney World.

The representative for the world (right) makes first contact with an alien (left) (2020, Colorized)

Did the arena, with no home court advantage due to no fans, really make that much of a difference? Is "Bubble Fraud" a legitimate title for some players and teams? Let's look into the background, stats, supposed "bubble frauds", aftermath, etc. and truly see if the Mickey Mouse saying is true.

The Bubble Itself/Background

    Baguette Biyombo decided to be an absolute loser and joke about COVID.

Two days later...

Thank god I don't have to root for this loser. I remember exactly where I was when this all went down. I was in my friends apartment a few floors below mine on their couch; Gobert tested positive, then the NBA shutdown, then Temple University (where I went) went online (for one reason my one professor still wanted us to come in the next day, I told him to fuck off I'm going home). Everything seemed to happen all at once, as if Gobert and the NBA was the domino to set everything off. At that point, everyone thought it would all be good in a few weeks, and now here we are almost a year and a half later still not totally back to normal, although we are finally starting to inch towards normality again. 3 months later in June 2020, Silver had came up with the plan of the bubble with an investment around $190 million.  
    The bubble was held at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex at Walt Disney World in Orlando Florida, with games being played in three different arenas. Players stayed at one of three hotels (The Grand Destino Tower at Coronado Springs, The Grand Floridian, and The Yacht Club), determined by their seeding thus far, with the top four seeds in each conference staying at the best one (The Gran Destino Tower). When entering into the bubble, every player, coach, and staff member was required to self-isolate in their rooms for up to 48 hours until they had tested negative twice. Although never specified, players were tested a lot, with unique circumstances requiring daily tests. For those who tested positive, they had to leave the bubble and complete the CDC guidelines. The league would look at video for contact tracing, with those who were around the player who tested positive for more than 15 being tested. Teams were originally allowed 37 people, but as time went on that increased, with family eventually being allowed to join. 
    The players had to travel to the site by July 7th, 4 months after the last game was played (the last Sixers game had a Mike Scott poster and-1 with Embiid air-humping the victim Khyri Thomas. Perhaps the origin to Thrust The Process). At the end of July, the teams would play scrimmage games that would not count so they could get back into game shape. They then played 8 games to determine the final seeding and who would make the playoffs and play-in, with the 8 and 9 seed playing each other in both conferences to make it into the playoffs (which was expanded to include the 7 and 10 seeds this season to add an extra two games in each conference). The Finals started on September 30th and ended on October 11th (around the time the normal regular season would have started), with the Los Angeles Lakers defeating the Miami Heat in 6 games. Many saw this coming, at least the part where the Lakers won. They had LeBron and just added Anthony Davis; of course they were favorites. Now the Heat on the other hand... not many, if any, realistically saw that coming. After Jimmy Butler left the Sixers on poor terms, it seemed as if he just wanted to retire to Miami. This Heat team really wasn't that good. They had a lot of large contracts that were given to mediocre or even bad players such as Whiteside, James Johnson, Dion Waiters, and Justise Winslow (he was always injured). When they traded Winslow for Iguodala and extended him to a 2 year $30 million dollar contract with an option in 2021-2022 (which means he could become a free agent this offseason if he really wanted to, but why?). Undrafted players Duncan Robinson and Kendrick Nunn (who is a domestic abuser, a running theme with the Heat) were given big roles for undrafted players on a team that was supposed to be at least competing for the playoffs. With them blossoming in their roles, Bam Adebayo becoming a very solid player, Erik Spoelstra, and Pat Riley being able to trade away those bad contracts, the Heat were good and made the Finals. Injuries to Jimmy, Bam, and Goran Dragic were ultimately reasons that their run was ended.
    There were a couple instances of players breaking the rules. Richaun Holmes left the bubble to pick up his dinner, leading to him having to isolate for 10 days. Lou Williams had to leave the bubble to attend a funeral, but he also decided to stop at the club Magic City for some wings (it was revealed by rapper Jack Harlow), with many people claiming that those wings were very good. Lou even had a flavor named after him, entitled "LouWill Lemon Pepper". This led to many memes, which garnered a lot of publicity for Magic City. The most interesting occurrence in my opinion (for all the wrong reasons) was with Rockets player Danuel House. The NBA had found out that House had an unauthorized guest to his room who had spent multiple hours there. She had previously worked as a temperature checker who had worked on campus several weeks prior (this occurred in September, a little over a month after games started and during the Rockets series against the Lakers). House was eventually dismissed from the bubble after an investigation, but it is not clear if it was by the Rockets or the NBA. Many of his teammates were not happy with the situation he put them in and he apologized to them before leaving the bubble. Danuel House was married and had three kids, and she had to find out about this on the internet. The situation did not exactly play in his favor.

The Stats

    There was definitely a difference in regards to stats during the bubble. With no crowd, it was believed that players would be able to hit more shots, and it turned out to be true. In the seeding games including all 22 teams invited to the bubble, the average points per 100 possessions increased from 111.95 to 113.17 (the highest mark recorded since this statistic was recorded). The average offensive efficiency increased from 95 to 98.7. During normal stoppages of games (strikes, etc.), offense usually went down, but this was the exact opposite. It seemed as if the defense just couldn't keep up with the offense in the bubble.

 This could partly be due to more fouls being called and shooters just not being able to miss (which this might be due to no crowd). Not only were there more defensive fouls, but the same happened with offensive fouls, with 30% of the possessions being spent in the penalty with the regular season having a rate of 26%. 

Because of the increase in fouls, free throws made per 100 field goal attempts went from 20 to 22.8 (free throws had been dropping since the 3-point renaissance). The amount of fouls and free throws taken could be contributed to due players not being normally conditioned (they weren't able to practice at the facilities because of the virus), and tired players tend to foul more, plus refs were able to better hear contact without the deafening crowd noise. As time went on in the bubble, the free throw rate came back down to normal, but shooting accuracy continued to increase, with effective field goal percentage increasing by a point.
    Players and coaches alike contributed this to the new environment. Mike D'Antoni (who was the Rockets coach at the time) said that because it was the same court every night, “you get your shooting, depth perception and all that". Mavericks guard/forward Tim Hardaway Jr. said “you can’t see through the backboard, shooting-wise, since it’s blacked out". Another difference is that the benches were further away from the court, making it harder for the players on the bench to yell at the shooters in the corner.

(statistics from here)

"Bubble Frauds"

The Miami Heat

Prior To Bubble (2019-2020):

Record: 41-24 (5th in Eastern Conference), PPG: 112.5, OPP PPG: 108.9

Bubble:

Record: 3-5, PPG: 110.3

After The Bubble (2020-2021):

Record: 40-32 (6th in Eastern Conference), PPG: 108.1 (25th), OPP PPG: 108.0 (5th)

    The Miami Heat were a cinderella team, which made many people to believe that they were frauds. This year was not very good for them, which you could take into account Jimmy Butler having to miss a decent amount of games, but they still underperformed. They were believed to be one of the top seeds in the east, but they finished one seed below what they did last year, when they were expected to be pretty bad. This year, when players like Tyler Herro, Duncan Robinson, and domestic abuser Kendrick Nunn were expected to improve upon their last year, they could not match it. I believe the Miami Heat to be huge frauds. Although severely outperforming their preseason predictions prior to the bubble, they still weren't really THAT good, with them being around the middle of the pack in the playoff race in the East. I believe they caught on fire at just the right time because of the circumstances.

Are They "Bubble Frauds": Yes

James Butler realizes the domestic abusers are frauds (2020, Colorized)

Jamal Murray

Prior To The Bubble (2019-2020)

Bubble

After The Bubble (2020-2021)

    Would I consider Jamal Murray a Bubble Fraud? I think so. Although he did definitely improve this year as compared to prior to the bubble in many areas, people think of his playoff performances in the bubble, which were absolutely insane, and I don't believe he's really that guy pal. Murray was also a pretty good player to begin with; somewhere just below perennial All-Star because I feel like people would give you a death stare if you said he was actually close to being an All-Star.
    That being said, the dude was absolutely on fire in the bubble, especially the first round series against the Jazz, where Murray and Mitchell (who will be discussed later) dueled for seven games. In Game 1,, Murray had 36 points with 6 made 3-pointers to lead the Nuggets in a 135-125 win. The next game, he returned to Earth with only 14 points and a -20 in a 19 point loss. More of the same in Game 3: 12 points on 31.3% shooting in a blowout by 37 points. Jamal Murray put up another amazing game with 50 points, 11 rebounds, and 7 assists with 9 made threes, but the Nuggets lost by 2. Down 3-1, Murray refused to back down with a 42 point performance on 65.4% and 4/8 from three. Game 5, he put up another 50 piece along with 70% shooting from the field and 75% from three (9/12). With the season on the line, Murray delivered another stinker; 17 points, 1/6 from three, but the Nuggets won and would advance. He eventually cooled down for the rest of the playoffs, but people would not forget those duels he had with Mitchell, both putting up 40+ multiple times.
    Compare that to before and after the bubble, and there is certainly a difference. Jamal Murray really hasn't ever had as good of a performance as he did in those games in the bubble, although they were inconsistent. He did not remain at the same pace as he did in the bubble, but it did even out with his pre-bubble stats. Murray's stats for 2020-2021 were in the middle compared to pre-bubble and during the bubble, except he advanced in steals per game and declined in free throw percentage. In the 2019-2020 regular season, he was a below average 3-point shooter and has now become someone who can be relied on to hit one. 

Is he a "Bubble Fraud": Kinda

Tyler Herro

Prior to the Bubble (2019-2020)

Bubble

After the Bubble (2020-2021)

    Tyler Herro came in as the 14th pick in the prior draft who came in as someone who just needed to hit the occasional three. He was expected to be a pretty good player, and he certainly did show flashes during the regular season leading to people labeling him a steal, but his performance in the bubble was not exactly expected.
    Herro was able to be a big part of the Heat's miraculous run to the Finals in the bubble, with him contributing 16 points per game in the first round to sweep the 4th seed Pacers, 42.4% from deep in the next round against the 1st seed Bucks, and then 19 points per game against the Celtics to propel them to a Finals berth. In the finals loss to the Lakers, Herro was the second leading scorer for the Heat, but his numbers weren't anything special, with him putting up 14.7 points per game on 36.7% from three (bUt ThAt SnArL!!!). 
    For what was expected of Tyler Herro, he had a very good performance in the bubble? Would he be able to continue that run? Well it certainly hurt that his value was then seen as "off the tables in a trade for James Harden". That's a lot to put on a second year player. By season's end, our thoughts were confirmed; who the hell wouldn't include Herro in a trade for Harden? He did not take a leap forward and become a knockdown consistent shooter like some thought he would. In fact, he shot below league average from 3 and decreased his percentage by almost 3%. Although his stats increased as compared to the before the shutdown, just like many others on this list, he just did not live up to the narrative that was created based on his play in Mickey's Clubhouse. When looking back at the stats at least, it really doesn't look that great except for the points, which is all anyone cares about anyway.

Is he a "Bubble Fraud": Yes

Donovan Mitchell

Prior to the Bubble (2019-2020) 

Bubble

After The Bubble (2020-2021)

    Unlike the other players on this list, Donovan Mitchell was a legitimate All-Star, earning his first appearance that year. He was already putting up really good numbers while the Jazz were still able to win. Then in the bubble, he just went otherworldly.
    Just like Jamal Murray, many will think of Mitchell's play during their first round playoff series. In the first game, Mitchell scored a game high and career high 57 points with 9 rebounds, and 7 assists alongside 57.6% shooting and 6/15 from 3... in a 10 point loss (but who cares us NBA nephews only care about performance stats like points and that's it). Another game high 30 going 6/7 from 3 tied up the series 1-1. In the game 3 blowout, Mitchell had help from his teammates while he was struggling going 5/13 from the field. Although Jamal Murray put up 50 points in game 4, Mitchell outdueled him with 51 points, 15/27 from the field, 4/7 from 3, 17/18 from the line, and the win to put them one game away from advancing. While he put up 30, 44, and 22 in the rest of the series, the Jazz still choked the 3-1 lead (at least they didn't achieve the best regular season record of all time and then do that in the finals and then recruit one of the best players of all time in the next free agency).
    This season, Donovan Mitchell was still superb. Most of his stats remained pretty similar, even taking into account that he played more than two minutes per game more in the bubble. The only expected difference was the shooting, but his 3-point and free throw percentage still remained above league average and were pretty good. The glaring problem that he still has is that he is inefficient, seen with his 43.8% field goal percentage. I wouldn't call him a "Bubble Fraud" because he still is and has been damn near, if not is, a superstar. He helped lead the Jazz to the best record in the NBA, although they eventually lost to the Clippers in the second round (which I would blame French Festus Ezeli for being the real fraud).

Is he a "Bubble Fraud": No

Gary Trent Jr.

Prior to the Bubble (2019-2020)

Bubble

After The Bubble (2020-2021)

    Gary Trent Jr. wasn't expected to do much, having been drafted 37th overall in the 2nd round by the Trail Blazers in 2018. His first year he played a total of 15 games and averaged 2.7 points per game on horrible shooting percentages: 32% from the field, 23.8% from 3, and 42.9% from the line. There was really nowhere but up from there for Gary Trent, and that's what happened. Increasing his FG% by 10%, 3P% by 15%, and FT% by 40%, Tent started to show potential. Although he still wasn't anything special, he would continue to improve in the bubble.
    Trent had a great beginning to the bubble right before the playoffs, averaging around 16.9 points per game on solid shooting splits, but only broke double digits in points twice and shot poorly in the five game series against the eventual champions Lakers. With a standout performance in the bubble (for the most part), he looked to improve even further in the next season.
    This year, he had a pretty good start with the Trail Blazers (15 PPG, 39.7% from 3), and then really started to flourish when he was traded to the Raptors. Without having to play alongside a ball dominant point guard (not a shot at Dame in the slightest, he just needs his shots) and shooting guard, Trent was able to do more himself and finally start games (15 of the 17 he played with the Raptors). He was able to get a career high of 44 against the Cavs on 17/19 from the field and 7/9 from 3 (that statline is absolutely insane). Gary Trent Jr. has honestly kept producing pretty similar numbers to what he did in the bubble (minus the 3-point percent, which it is still pretty good and his percent in the bubble was just insane).

Is he a "Bubble Fraud": Yes? Kinda? Not Really?

Was The Bubble Successful?

    What point of view are we feeling today? Are you Adam Silver? He himself stated that the bubble was "better than what we had envisioned". After spending up to $190 million to get it started, the NBA was able to make back $1.5 billion in revenue that they wouldn't have made if there was no bubble. More money in Mr. Silver's pockets. The players? Not so much. Many players believe that the numerous amount of injuries this season was due to the severely shortened offseason, and the 2021-2022 season will also have a shortened offseason, with this season most likely ending mid to late July and the next season starting like years prior in mid October (regularly, the season ends in early June, that's a whole month difference). Although this offseason will be a little longer than the last, it is still pretty short as opposed to a normal year.
    Regarding COVID, the bubble was successful. They were able to finish the whole season without having to be paused again due to an outbreak, although that was more than likely due to the strict rules. Many players were not fans of the way the bubble was set up. They were secluded, away from family, and had a lot worse quality in food compared to what they usually have among other factors. I'm looking at this strictly based on COVID, and through that view the NBA did well.

The Aftermath (COVID In The NBA/The 2020-2021 Season)

    If we're going to consider the bubble a Mickey Mouse ring, then what about this year? There were numerous injuries due to having a very shortened offseason. Unlike the bubble, players were testing positive and have felt the side effects. Players like Seth Curry, Karl Anthony Towns, Derrick Rose, and Jayson Tatum had it bad. Seth Curry looked very fatigue for weeks after coming back, Karl Anthony Towns did not feel like himself and multiple family members had passed away due to the virus, and Jayson Tatum said he needed an inhaler before playing. Even with basketball players like them being hit hard by getting COVID, there are still players, like Kent Bazemore, who did not want to get the vaccine, with Bazemore saying he "My family has a history of heart disease and all these different things, and I'm trying to turn that around for my lineage. So, I'm taking it upon myself to do everything I can to keep my immune system strong and live a healthy and long life". Just unbelievably ignorant. Tell that to Karl Anthony Towns. Does he not think that Seth Curry, Tatum, etc. don't do the same thing? Shouldn't the heart disease be the reason why he gets the vaccine? Well, at least it doesn't seem as bad as some Phillies players have been. In their clubhouse, many of their players are saying that the vaccine caused them to get injured. Alec Bohm just tested positive, leading to three other players also having to miss time. The Phillies have one of the lowest percentage vaccinated (with some saying they will NEVER reach the 85% threshold, which causes things like this to happen. DiDi Gregorius, who wore a mask all last year and the beginning of this year due to a kidney disease, blamed his elbow injury on the vaccine. Pitcher Brandon Kintzler (I watch some Phillies games, but I have never heard of this guy. With our pitching, good chance he probably sucks), had neck pain during an outing and blamed it on the Johnson & Johnson vaccine. Bruh. Thoughts like this in sports, where the players have a lot of influence, is just dangerous.

    Ok enough about baseball; back to the NBA. After a pretty successful bubble (in terms of COVID), this season was no where close (obviously due to not all teams being secluded in one area away from others). There were a large amount of players who had tested positive (previously stated) or were forced to miss games due to contact tracing (Dennis Schroder had to sit out multiple separate times due to contact tracing, which he eventually said he couldn't get it in the playoffs then even though he tested negative. Once again: bruh). And the player with the worst timing goes to... Chris Paul! Although he was vaccinated, he tested positive during the conference finals and had to miss 2 games (with the Suns actually winning both, then losing the game he came back). I'm sure there were many people who used this as an example to not get the vaccine. Many games during the regular season were postponed due to teams not having 8 players because of COVID, but of course Adam Silver made injured Mike Scott suit up (who would not play that game obviously because he was injured) so that the Sixers could meet the minimum number of players required at 8 for their game against the Nuggets (where Tyrese Maxey went off for 39 points).

    Alongside COVID affecting the schedule and players, injuries also had an impact this year that could possibly attributed to the short offseason. Injuries include: Joel Embiid - meniscus 2x, Jamal Murray - ACL, James Harden - hamstring, Kevin Durant - thigh, hamstring, Jaylen Brown - torn ligament in left wrist, Lebron James - Ankle Sprain, Anthony Davis - achilles and calf, Victor Oladipo - quad, Donte DiVincenzo - torn ligament in ankle, and Donovan Mitchell - ankle among others. A similarity between all of these players: they were all apart of teams that made the playoffs in the bubble, with many of them making it far, and most of them are difference makers. Star players were going down with major injuries and couldn't help their team. Lebron and Anthony Davis had just led the Lakers to the 1 seed and a (possibly Mickey Mouse) championship. But this year they went out in the first round. Many people believed that the additions of Schroder and Montrezl, alongside the emergence of Talen Horton-Tucker in the preseason, would make last years champions even better! The Lakers were reported to refuse to add THT in a trade for Kyle Lowry (kinda feels like the Heat taking Herro off the tables in a trade for Harden). Ultimately, he didn't take the leap like some were expecting after the preseason, and the Lakers were just not able to produce the same as the year before (of course it could be due to injuries, but they were also still having problems as a team). This year could be seen as a bigger Mickey Mouse ring than last year. The Suns were pretty bad in the regular season before the bubble, and now with just the addition of CP3, they finished 2nd in the West and are in the finals (with their path consisting of teams with injuries to key players).

Is It Fair To Call It "Mickey Mouse"?

    I think calling the bubble "Mickey Mouse" isn't exactly wrong, but you also have to account for all the other variables that made it harder. Being in a secluded area where you cannot do much, not having the same diet and exercise as prior to the shutdown, the time that they couldn't be working out, just the idea that there was a global crisis of a virus spreading that has and will kill many; that's not something to take likely. There also were no fans and no home court advantage, which is a big advantage for some teams, especially the Sixers that year who had not lost at the Wells Fargo Center . Comparing the stats, the bubble definitely seemed like a fluke for some. But hey, we got Matisse vlogs! 

    I also am very iffy on this year, too. Sure there were a large amount of injuries, no fans for a long portion, but doesn't that also make it harder at the same time? The Sixers had the best home record the year prior, not losing even once at home, with a big reason being due to the fans (although the fans were in attendance for the playoffs, which just did not happen. So weird that Philadelphia doesn't have an NBA team yet). Many teams did not have their star players due to injury or they were playing hobbled, but so did the other teams. Sure I can call the Eastern Semis Mickey Mouse because Embiid was playing injured (and because no one except really just Seth Curry decided to show up), but he was still playing, plus De'Andre Hunter was out for the playoffs (obviously he isn't on the same level as Embiid, but he was still a valuable player). Having Kawhi and Serge Ibaka out definitely hurt the Clippers. Kawhi is obviously a superstar, but Ibaka being out really messed with the rotations. The Clippers were forced to start either Batum or Marcus Morris at the 5, which they should NEVER have to do (Batum should honestly play the 2 before even THINKING about playing the 5). If you call either of these championships "Mickey Mouse" (and I feel like next season may possibly be similar due to another shortened offseason), then you'll at least get a chuckle out of me, that shit the funniest thing I've heard in awhile. As a Sixers fan, these were 100% Mickey Mouse rings. We employed Al Horford in 2020. Hawks beat an overachieving Knicks team and needed basketball terrorism by Osama Trae Laden and the Supremacists (Bogdanovic, Huerter, Gallinari) to beat a one-legged Embiid, depressed Ben Simmons, and "fire up the grill Uncle George I'm hungry!" "he brings playoff experience and he'll be good to go and adjusted to the team by the playoffs" George Hill and finally lost a real series to the Bucks. Win a real playoff series you bums.