Celtics Call Raptors' In-Season Court 'Unacceptable' & Health Concern
The new in-season tournament court for the Toronto Raptors was “unacceptable,” Boston Celtics forward Jaylen Brown said Friday night.
Toronto unveiled its new fully painted black and gold court for its first in-season tournament game. While it looked good aesthetically and got rave reviews from fans, it was concerningly slippery, players said.
“I think we all as players are all here for the in-season tournament because it’s going to generate revenue, excitement, competition, etc. but we’ve got to make sure the court is safe to play on,” said Brown who appeared to slip and pull a groin in the fourth quarter. “We can’t put our players out there and risk their health. Tonight, I thought the floor was unacceptable. I think guys were slipping all over the place, not just me.”
Precious Achiuwa agreed with Brown. He too found the court too slippery and was especially concerned as he continues to work his way back from a groin injury that sidelined him for five games earlier this season.
“It was slippery, I mean, I fell myself a couple of times,” Achiuwa said “I mean, I think I'm fine with the color. … I just want to play basketball. The extra stuff is extra. I just want to play basketball. At the same time, I’m not trying to get hurt, and especially for a guy like myself, missed the majority part of the season, you know, coming back I'm like extra cautious.”
Gary Trent Jr. too was seen tightening his shoes in the first half as he too seemed to have trouble getting accustomed to the new court. It was his first game back from a right foot injury and he appeared to be dealing with some issues.
For his part, Pascal Siakam said the courts were not an issue for him.
"At the end of the day these courts are different for everyone, players are not used to it. It’s different for different shoes. It’s a variety of things," Siakam said. "It’s everywhere so it’s got to be something we figure out as players or they figure out on the other side. But I don’t think I slipped tonight."
It's not the first time these new in-season courts have had issues. Denver's court had its three-point line painted incorrectly and Dallas' court was determined impermissible last week.
In New Orleans, Mavericks star Luka Doncic complained that he found the Pelicans' in-season court to be too slippery.
“Outside of all the colors, the court today was really bad,” Doncic told reporters after the game. “It was really slippery and then some places the ball didn’t really bounce. So you know, if we’re going to have these courts, we’re going to make sure that it’s a stable court, so you can play on it."
The Raptors will play its next in-season tournament game in Orlando on Tuesday before returning home next Friday when the black court will return to Scotiabank Arena.
