How Heat knew ‘immediately’ that Bulls court was unplayable, resulting in postponement

As there was a delay in the Miami Heat’s matchup against the Chicago Bulls on Thursday night, both teams waited for 90 minutes before the game was eventually called. With the NBA postponing the Heat’s game against the Bulls, head coach Erik Spoelstra and star Norman Powell described what it was like during the delay.

The NBA would postpone the contest “due to moisture on the floor rendering the court unplayable,” as the arena experienced relentless condensation on the court due to ice below the court and the rain and temperature outside the venue. Though the crew tried to wipe down the floor endlessly to make it playable, it wasn’t working, with Spoelstra saying the team knew immediately that the court couldn’t able to be played on.

“We always want to try to go,” Spoelstra said after the game was postponed, according to The Miami Herald. “The players were complaining about it on both sides. So, staff, we all went out there, and pretty much immediately, we felt that it wasn’t playable. We have that in our practice facility, and when there’s condensation, it takes about 15 minutes for it to change. But this is a huge building. We weren’t optimistic that it would change. “

“By the time I got out there, all the players were complaining,” Spoelstra continued about the delay. “…There was no question that it was not playable, that’s what was disappointing. As soon as you walked out there, you knew you couldn’t play on it.”

Heat’s Norman Powell on the court conditions in Chicago

While the Heat had fun during the delay like Tyler Herro having a shooting contest with the Bulls mascot or other players shooting from the bench, the NBA would postpone the game due to player safety. Per the pool report from the NBA, crew chief Sean Wright said that the officiating crew, the teams, and the NBA tried to find a solution to play, but “nothing seemed to work,” as even the arena tried to lower the temperature.

There is no doubt that postponing a game due to court conditions is unusual, but it’s happened before, like in 2016 between the Sacramento Kings and Philadelphia 76ers, as the ice rink under the court led to the same result. The Bulls share the United Center with the NHL’s Chicago Blackhawks.

Powell would share that he had to deal with the same 11 seasons ago, when he was with the Toronto Raptors, sharing how “crazy” it was to experience it again.

“Honestly, this is the first time I’ve ever had to deal with that in 11 seasons, which is kind of crazy,” Powell said. “Yeah, it’s kind of tough. After the first like 30 minutes, I think you start to kind of like, all right, what are we doing. Then you hear them say another 20 minutes and then it’s like, all right, like, you really don’t want to play, and it’s hard to get refocused.”

“You see the guys messing around and joking around,” Powell continued. “So it’s kind of hard to stay locked in when you’re just waiting for news and how it’s going to go. But yeah, it’s pretty crazy.”

A date between the two teams hasn’t been announced yet as the Heat next take on the Indiana Pacers on Saturday night.

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