Warriors react to bright lights, brighter floors of the NBA Cup originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area
HOUSTON – The slate gray surface of the Warriors NBA Cup floor is reminiscent of the same outdoor courts that every player once spent time on growing up. It didn’t have to be the iconic locations of Venice Beach and all of New York. At some point, all the hoopers have bounced a ball on concrete.
However, not many have done this on a yellow, blue or red track. The Warriors’ other NBA Cup locations so far – New Orleans, Denver and now Houston – have been a very different sight for sore eyes.
“This one isn’t that bad,” Moses Moody said before the Warriors’ game against the Denver Nuggets earlier this month. “I didn’t think the one we played on this year was that bad. But last year, The first time I played OKC on that blue field, I felt like there was a lot going on in my head self-consciously.”
Surrounded by red trim, the Pelicans went with bright blue hardwood and their logo was pushed in several places, both behind and on top of the NBA Cup trophy at center court. That didn’t seem to bother the Warriors too much as they came out on top, 112-108.
Neither team shot out the lights. The Warriors shot 44.8 percent overall and 32.4 percent from three-point range, and the Pelicans were slightly worse at 44.6 percent from the field and 30.8 percent on threes.
It looked like the yellow of the Nuggets’ home court at Ball Arena wasn’t a problem for the Warriors until their offense went icy and failed to score in the final two and a half minutes in a frustrating four. -point loss.
The color of the court is not the reason the Warriors lost that game. The fact that the officials missed Christian Braun’s attempt at a timeout call when there was no one left is probably not the case either.
If that design’s mustard yellow is momentarily at the top of the condiment rankings thanks to Kendrick Lamar’s literal scream on his latest hit, ketchup is Houston’s sauce of choice, or at least that’s what their NBA Cup court shows.
On Wednesday evening, the stands at the Toyota Center will be completely decked out in red. So will the floor. Within a black border around the court, the Warriors and Rockets will play in three different shades of red for a chance to advance to the semifinals in Las Vegas.
“It’s interesting,” Kevon Looney said after practice on Tuesday. “I don’t think I’ve ever played on a red court. It will be my first time, so we’ll see how it goes.”
Gary Payton II jokes that he’s grateful for his good vision, saying he has to look at the floor once or twice to get an idea of the lines, but after that it’s all the same.
The first thing that came to Payton’s mind when thinking about the creativity of the NBA Cup courts was an ode to Boise State football. In his view, it is also an opportunity for fashion.
“The first thing I ever saw is the blue court at Boise State,” Payton said Wednesday after the Warriors’ shooting. “We all have different colored fields for the cup. I like it, it’s cool. Throw the shoes on there and match them with the sweater.
“It’s a nice fashion piece that the league is doing there.”
Practices and shootarounds along the way have given the Warriors all the extra time they needed to visually adjust to the NBA Cup marketing. Players and coaches seem to be okay with the league trying something different to spice it up and make the Cup stand out from the rest of the games.
If shooting gets in the way, no one will use that as an excuse.
“No, I’m just looking at the edge,” Brandin Podziemski said. ‘The border is always orange. That’s all I look at.’
Red will be seen all over Houston. The two shades of orange – for the ball and the rim – and the white of the net are the only colors that matter for the Warriors to move one step closer to the gold of the NBA Cup trophy, and the green that comes from the monetary prize.
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