How Team USA handles the massive time change at the FIBA ​​Basketball World Cup

MANILA, Philippines – Throughout Golden State’s past decade as a perennial contender for the NBA title, the Warriors have often adjusted their training itinerary to fit their travel schedule. When Steve Kerr’s club flings east on a long road trip, it’s no stranger to the Golden State to leave its private charter and head straight to an evening shooting tour, as opposed to the NBA standard of getting shots the next morning before spending that same night. Game.

The Team USA roster competing in the FIBA ​​Basketball World Cup 2023 has had to adjust its procedures for several different time zones, not just the 12-hour difference from Eastern Time to the Philippines, as Team USA’s first two competitions end on Saturday. It’s 8:40 a.m. ET. The Americans’ five-match exhibition roster also included friendlies in Europe and the United Arab Emirates.

“It was tough in Spain,” said American forward Michal Bridges, a rookie with the Brooklyn Nets. “Just taking a nap during the day, or taking a two-hour nap, it was hard to sleep at night. Lesson learned.” When Team USA arrived in Abu Dhabi for exhibitions against Greece and Germany, Bridges, a self-proclaimed nap during the regular season, resisted the urge to take a midday nap. “That helped goodBridges told Yahoo Sports. “I was in bed, and I fell asleep at about nine or ten. Sleeps!”

After nearly four hours landing in each new country, Pelicans star Brandon Ingram, Team USA forward Brandon Ingram, battles fatigue with drills. Ingram travels with a personal trainer to perform manual work on his body throughout the event, as well as an additional support worker who supervises the weightlifting. Perhaps this is Ingram’s secret sauce, because the New Orleans striker still finds naps useful in the Philippines. “I sleep all day, getting two or three hours in at a time,” Ingram told Yahoo Sports. The other key item: Ingram said his phone is always set to Do Not Disturb mode — and not just when he’s trying to catch a few extra winks.

Ingram may be the only player on Team USA who is able to rest whenever he wants, without suffering any consequences. Landing in Manila, what Tyrese Halliburton thought would be a short sleepover ended up becoming his own teaching moment like Bridges before him. Halliburton settled into a five-hour nap inside Team USA’s lavish accommodations. “It didn’t help,” said the Pacers All-Star guard. “It felt good, but when it was time to go to bed, I didn’t sleep until 3am.”

The next day, Halliburton was groggy during training and his media commitments. He forced himself to stay up until 1am that second night, scrolling through social media to keep in touch as people in America woke up. He played video games for an hour after his eyelids first started falling out. Finally, he drifted away, only to turn up later than scheduled. “I end up getting up late for therapy,” Halliburton told Yahoo Sports. “I slept from 1 o’clock until noon. I kind of reset my body, and I’m in great shape now.”

Haliburton’s favorite game is WWE 2K, proclaiming that he can control any wrestler and still be victorious. “But me and my friends create the characters and play ourselves,” Halliburton said. The Indiana floor general, currently serving as a backup guard for Team USA, even found a way to jailbreak the game on his computer during the World Cup hiatus, so that the NBA 2K Pacers could hit the ring in that blue and yellow uniform and suplex. any competitor. He smiled proudly, “I’ve adjusted it.” “I learned about 3D modeling and all that stuff, so it’s pretty cool.”

Bridges normally plays MLB 2K on his console, but he’s starting to get involved in the PGA Tour 2K where Team USA members and former Villanova College teammates Galen Bronson and Josh Hart juggle their body clocks by sparring on virtual links. Hart found staying up between 4-8pm the biggest challenge of the time difference, but that didn’t stop the Knicks winger from constantly attacking Bronson on the PS5 with his innovative player.

“I’m great with Asvinte. I’ve got a good spin on the ball,” Hart told Yahoo Sports. “JP is a good driver, but he’s not competitive in the short term. Doesn’t have the ability to drag or fade the ball to the green, spin it slightly. I am better.”

“Yeah, sure, whatever. I actually won the last game, and that’s all that matters,” Bronson said. “I got witnesses.”

Win or lose, the New York star and Team USA captain said the main theme of his changing sleep routine is spending time with the group. Bronson, Halliburton and Hart went to dinner Thursday night with their folks who made the trip to Southeast Asia. “If you were on your own, you’d probably watch TV and fall asleep,” Bronson told Yahoo Sports. “It’s definitely part of the experience. Some days you wake up knowing you have practice and you say, ‘Jesus…'”

Whatever tips and tricks they used, Kerr saw no appreciable delay when the Americans went to court. “These guys are hungry and committed,” Kerr said. “In every training they give their best. I just know from a coaching point of view that this is a great team.”