NBA Cup west picks
Predicting who will advance from the NBA Cup semifinals in the Western Conference.
The Los Angeles Lakers will not use the alternate NBA Cup court for their quarterfinal game against the San Antonio Spurs at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles on Wednesday, according to ESPN.
The decision not to use the yellow alternate court was made “out of an abundance of caution,” ESPN reported.
Lakers star Luka Doncic was among the players who had issues slipping on the court during the team’s 135-118 victory over the L.A. Clippers on Nov. 25.
“It’s just slippery. It’s dangerous,” Doncic said after that game. “I slipped. I slipped a lot of times, and you could see a lot of players slipped. And that’s dangerous, man.”
The league provided an alternate court to each of the 30 teams as a promotional tool for the tournament games.
The Lakers’ alternate court was not used in the 129-119 home victory over the Dallas Mavericks on Nov. 29. That win allowed the Lakers to advance to the quarterfinal round.
The court was returned to the creator for repairs, but was not expected to be ready in time for the game against the Spurs.
USA TODAY reached out to the Lakers for comment about the decision, but has not heard back.
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