Jaylen Brown spoke out against a court he felt was too slippery on Friday night, becoming the latest NBA player to call out sleek-looking and perhaps just sleek playing surfaces.
During the Celtics’ 108-105 win in Toronto, on the debut, new-look court of Scotiabank Arena, Brown slipped twice in the game’s final minute.
The second slip, on which Brown was trying to get open during an in-bounds play, might have caused an injury.
“I slipped. I might have strained my groin a little bit,” Brown told reporters in Toronto. “We’ll see how it feels. The court was just slippery all game. As players, we’re 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 floor is safe to play on. We can’t put our players out there and risk their health.
“Tonight, I thought the floor was kind of unacceptable,” added Brown, who is a vice president of the players’ union. “Guys were slipping all over the place, not just me.”
Raptors forward Precious Achiuwa, too, told reporters “it was slippery” and he “felt myself slip a few times.”
“I just want to play basketball,” Achiuwa said. “But at the same time, I’m not trying to get hurt.”
On the NBC Sports Boston broadcast, former NBA player Brian Scalabrine noticed that there were more slips than usual.
“I like the way this court looks, but there’s been about 10 times that guys are slipping all over the place,” Scalabrine said. “… If they’re going to do these floors, you’ve got to make sure you’re taking care of the guys.” -NY Post
