Dallas Mavericks guard Luka Doncic shoots against New Orleans Pelicans center Jonas Valanciunas (17) … [+]
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Eye-catching courts have been the talk of the NBA in recent weeks. The league rolled out colorful, striped courts as part of its new in-season tournament. While the courts might be grabbing a lot of attention, not everyone is happy with them.
After getting blown out by the New Orleans Pelicans, 131-110, on the Pelicans’ Mardi Gras-themed green and purple in-season tournament court, some of the members of the Dallas Mavericks voiced their displeasure with the floor.
“Outside of all the colors, the court today was really bad,” Luka 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. Like in Dallas, you know? It wasn’t stable, so we had to change it.”
Dallas has hosted one in-season tournament game so far, a win over the Los Angeles Clippers, but it didn’t feature their new court. The Mavericks chose not to play on it because it didn’t meet league standards due to manufacturing errors and defects.
Mavericks head coach Jason Kidd also expressed his concern with the courts after the game. He pointed out the problems with the Mavericks court, but he was quick to mention that the floor wasn’t the reason his team got waxed in New Orleans.
“I think that the floors are hard to watch on TV,” Kidd told reporters. “The league has gone a little bit too far with the floor. The uniforms I get, but the floor is maybe a year or two from now. And we’ve had problems with the floor. But it’s too late. We’re not using the floor as an excuse, so just make sure we’re not quoted as saying the floor is the reason why we lost.”
New Mavericks forward Grant Williams, who joined the team after a trade with the Boston Celtics last summer, sees potential in the in-season tournament floors. He would like the league to make some adjustments to them going forward and offered his own aesthetic and design suggestions.
“I think that the courts have potential. It’s the first year. You’re bound to have hiccups and to have inconsistencies,” Williams told reporters. “It’s a new court, so you’ve got to break them in. It’s the first time anybody has played on them. It’s definitely one of those things that has potential or can have success in the future, it’s just a matter of execution.
“I keep saying my biggest feeling is that it should be hardwood with the offset tone in the center of the court still with the trophy. I think that would be a great look for the league, especially since it still brings attention to the trophy around it. You can maybe add more accents across the court, like how we have the silhouette of Dirk [Nowitzki] on our court.
“You do more of that, more so than you do the full color of the court, because even when we first got on the court yesterday, you could tell the three-point line was a little off, just by like a panel. It was a little bit separated. We just have to address that, and I feel like there’s potential for this in-season tournament going forward. I think we got a lot of opportunity there. We just have to take full advantage of it.”
Regardless of what the players say now, the courts are here to stay for the duration of the in-season tournament. That’s something Mavericks’ sixth man Tim Hardaway Jr. understands. He and the rest of the league will have to make the best of the situation.
“It doesn’t matter what I say. It doesn’t matter,” Hardaway told reporters. “They’re going to do whatever they want at the end of the day. Court, outdoor court, windy conditions, it doesn’t matter. Basketball is basketball.”