The Miami Heat-Chicago Bulls game at the United Center on Thursday evening was postponed due to the unplayable court condition. The combination of rainy weather outside the building and the ice below the basketball court led to condensation on the playing surface.
Players from both teams went through their usual pregame routines when they first noticed the moisture on the court. The United Center staff attempted to fix the issue by mopping the court and turning up the air conditioning, but to no avail. After the announcement, Miami Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra addressed the bizarre situation.
“We always want to try to go. 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,” Spoelstra told the Miami Herald. “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,” he continued. “Officials were on the horn the whole time. We were on the horn with (Heat general manager) Andy Elisburg back in Miami. It was just a waiting game until finally both sides decided that we needed to call it.”
Miami Heat News: Norman Powell recalls “crazy” United Center experience
Miami Heat guard Norman Powell shared that this is the first time he experienced a postponement of an NBA game due to unplayable court conditions. He admitted that it was “tough” because the incident disrupted his typical day in the office.
“Honestly, this is the first time I’ve ever had to deal with that in 11 seasons, which is kind of crazy,” Powell stated. “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. 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,” he ended.
