Lakers to use usual court for NBA Cup after slipping issues

EL SEGUNDO, Calif. – After Luka Doncic expressed concern about the slippery surface of the special, alternate 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.

According to the team, the bright yellow NBA Cup court was inspected by technicians from the league’s court vendor and deemed unplayable for Friday.

The seller is expected to renovate the court and make it available if LA hosts 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 have identified areas of their NBA Cup court that require additional repairs, so the team will use their standard home court for tonight’s game. The NBA Cup court is being repaired and will be ready for use in the quarterfinals if they host.”

“That was bad,” Lakers forward Rui Hachimura said when asked about the playing surface in the Lakers’ 135-118 win over the LA Clippers on Friday. “I realized it immediately when I was warming up. It felt just weird. Just oily, slippery. Literally everyone was on the floor.”

After Tuesday’s win, Doncic even said it was “dangerous” to play on the court.

The Lakers are 3-0 in NBA Cup group play and have already made it to the quarterfinals.

They can clinch home court in the quarterfinals with a win over Dallas in their final group play game on Friday.