Jaylen Brown appeared to be hurt at the end of the Celtics 108-105 win over the Toronto Raptors Friday night, when he slipped on one of the final inbound plays -- possibly injuring his groin in the process.
The All-Star wing immediately headed to the locker room to be looked at following the fall during a crucial point late in the game.
"I slipped," Brown said in his postgame comments. "That's it. I slipped. I think I might have strained my groin a little bit. We'll see how it feels, but the court was just slippery all game."
While the new In-Season Tournament courts have caused some controversy among NBA fans for straying away from tradition, players around the league have not been happy due to a lack of safety when it comes to not using the usual parquet format.
"I think, as players, we're all here for the In-Season Tournament because it's going to generate revenue, excitement, competition, but we've got to make sure the floor is safe to play on," Brown continued.
Brown, one of the Vice Presidents of the NBPA, slipped during a key defensive possession that left Raptors guard Scottie Barnes wide open for a potential game-tying three with 11.1 seconds remaining. Though he missed it, Brown slipped once again on an ensuing possession -- where he may have strained his groin.
Despite Boston holding on to the three-point victory, Brown voiced his frustration to reporters after the game.
"We can't put our players out there and risk their health," said Brown. "Tonight, I thought the floor was unacceptable. I think guys were slipping all over the place. Not just me."
Raptors big man Precious Achiuwa agreed with Brown's sentiments regarding the court, as they were a few players that slipped throughout the game, not just Brown.
"It was slippery," Achiuwa said during his postgame presser. "I fell myself a few times. A couple of times, I ended up on the floor. I slipped a few times."
There's been some other issues around the league for not using a typical hardwood floor, such as the prior to the Dallas Mavericks and Denver Nuggets In-Season Tournament game, where the 3-point line was painted on the wrong spot at Ball Arena and it had to be redone prior to tip-off.
Dallas reportedly also had trouble with the New Orleans Pelicans' court, to which Luka Doncic called it "really slippery, and in some places, the ball didn't really bounce."
With the In-Season Tournament in it's inaugural state and the new courts are being made to stand out, the NBA has to step up to insure they are indeed safe to use before something more serious occurs to jeopardize the product and or more importantly the careers of its players.
Joel Pavón
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