EL SEGUNDO, Calif. — After Luka Doncic presented concerns about the slippery surface of the special, alternative NBA Cup court the Los Angeles Lakers played on earlier this week, the Lakers will use their traditional court for their NBA Cup group game against the Dallas Mavericks on Friday.
The bright yellow NBA Cup court was examined by technicians from the league’s court vendor and deemed unplayable for Friday, according to the team.
The vendor is expected to make repairs to the court and have it available should L.A. host an NBA Cup quarterfinal game at Crypto.com Arena.
“Player safety is our top priority,” a league spokesperson told ESPN. “In consultation with the Lakers, we identified areas of their NBA Cup court that required additional refinishing, so the team will use its standard home court for tonight’s game. The NBA Cup court is being reconditioned and will be ready for use in the quarterfinals should they host.”
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“That was bad,” Lakers forward Rui Hachimura said Friday when asked about the playing surface in the Lakers’ 135-118 win over the LA Clippers. “I felt it right away when I was warming up. It just felt weird. Just like oily, slippery. Everybody was on the floor, literally.”
After the win Tuesday, Doncic went as far as to call the court “dangerous” to play on.
The Lakers are 3-0 in NBA Cup group play and have already clinched a spot in the quarterfinals.
They can clinch home court in the quarterfinals with a win over Dallas in their final group play game Friday.
