In the waning moments of the Boston Celtics’ 108-105 win over the Toronto Raptors on Friday night, Celtics star Jaylen Brown appeared to hurt his groin. Brown attempted to get open while the team was trying to inbound the ball, and while there’s no official diagnosis yet, was clearly in some pain as he tried to move around.
Jaylen Brown slips on the court. Hurts his groin. pic.twitter.com/YwVOBMfZad
— Oh No He Didn't (@ohnohedidnt24) November 18, 2023
After the game, Brown spoke to the media and remarked on the state of the court. Throughout the In-Season Tournament, the NBA has put down new courts that are designed to make fans know that they’re watching a game during the event. But in Brown’s eyes, the court was unusually slippery in Toronto, which he called “unacceptable.”
Jaylen Brown is NOT happy about the slippery and “unacceptable” in-season tournament court tonight in Toronto and wants it fixed “before somebody gets seriously hurt.”
For @usatodaysports, @hoopshype pic.twitter.com/AeQ1xzlWg2
— Mike Bohn (@MikeBohn) November 18, 2023
“The court was just slippery all game,” Brown said. “I think we’re all, as players, we’re all here for the In-Season Tournament, cause it’s gonna generate revenue, excitement, competition, etc. But we gotta make sure the floor is safe to play on, we can’t put out players out there and risk their health. So, tonight, I thought the floor was kinda unacceptable, I think guys were just slipping all over the place. Not just me.”
This sentiment was shared by Precious Achiuwa of the Raptors.
"It was slippery, I fell a couple of times myself. The extra stuff is extra. I'm just trying to play basketball, at the same time, not trying to get hurt" — Precious Achiuwa echoing some other comments that the In-Season Tournament floor at Scotiabank Arena was slippery.
— Michael Grange (@michaelgrange) November 18, 2023
This has been a criticism of the Tournament courts in other games — on Friday, for example, Torrey Craig of the Chicago Bulls said that the floor has been slippery whenever they’ve played on it. Barring something really shocking, our assumption is these courts are going to stick around for the rest of this season. Whether that changes during the In-Season Tournament going forward, though, remains to be seen.
