Jaylen Brown Calls In-Season Tournament Court ‘Unacceptable’

In the final moments of the Boston Celtics’ 108-105 victory over the Toronto Raptors on Friday night, Celtics star Jaylen Brown appeared to injure his groin. Brown tried to get open while the team tried to inbound the ball, and while there’s no official diagnosis yet, he was clearly in pain as he tried to move.

After the game, Brown spoke to the media and commented on the condition of the field. Throughout the In-Season tournament, the NBA has installed new courts designed to let fans know they are watching a game during the event. But in Brown’s eyes, the court was unusually slippery in Toronto, which he called “unacceptable.”

“The field was just slippery the whole game,” Brown said. “I think we are all, as players, we are all here for the tournament in season, because it is going to generate revenue, enthusiasm, competition, etc. But we have to make sure that the The ground is safe to play on, we can’t exclude players and risk their health. So tonight I thought the ground was pretty unacceptable, I think guys were slipping all over the place. Not just me.”

This sentiment was shared by Precious Achiuwa of the Raptors.

This has been a criticism of tournament fields in other games — Friday, for example, Torrey Craig of the Chicago Bulls said the floor was slippery every time they played on it. Barring something truly shocking, we’re guessing these pitches will stay in place for the remainder of this season. It remains to be seen whether this will change during the in-season tournament.