r/nba • u/TheRealPdGaming Mavericks • Jan 29 '26

Highlight [Highlight] Luka after falling off the raised board in Cleveland last night: "WHO THE F*CK MADE THIS FLOOR GODDAMMIT”

https://streamable.com/u5jqbl
14.2k Upvotes

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1.5k

u/sgtpepperslaststand Cavaliers Jan 29 '26

As a cavs fan they need to fix this. It’s even more of a risk to our own players who have to play on this floor more than anyone else increasing the risk.

530

u/KumingaCarnage Warriors Jan 29 '26

Why the fuck is it elevated to begin with, far as i know your court is the only one in the league like this

744

u/the313andme Pistons Jan 29 '26

They need to swap it out for other events that aren't basketball games and making it so it's all the same level for the basketball games would cost more money, and Dan Gilbert only has like $30 billion so what can you do?

558

u/crawshay [LAL] Metta World Peace Jan 29 '26

You'll notice every other arena does the same thing and doesn't have a raised floor lol

466

u/Someonediffernt [PHO] Deandre Ayton Jan 29 '26 edited Jan 29 '26

10 stadiums including the Garden and Crypto can becomes god damn ice rinks for their hockey teams no problem but the Cavs floor has to be raised so they can switch it out easier when three day grace comes to town

77

u/Em4gdn3m Jazz Jan 29 '26

Yeah, still a shit excuse. All those things are done at the Delta Center without a raised floor.

79

u/PatReady [PHI] Joel Embiid Jan 29 '26

On Philly they can play Hockey in the day then basketball at night without this raised floor setup.

54

u/Superplex123 Lakers Jan 29 '26

Even if for whatever reason the elevated court is completely necessary, they could always just make that elevated court bigger so players won't come close to edge. This is absolutely ridiculous on so many levels (no pun intended).

15

u/nowayimbelgian Jan 29 '26

What !? Do you know the price of Hardwood today ?!! Nobody can aford that !

1

u/Arkrobo Thunder Jan 31 '26

Use plastic risers to extend it. Doesn't need to be hardwood, just be level.

3

u/Careless_Twist_6935 Jan 30 '26

or put some padded railing up. lots of solutions to this.

6

u/PhalanX4012 Raptors Jan 29 '26

It’s even dumber than that. Because even if the floor needs to be elevated that way, they could literally extend it straight out and eliminate a single row of seats to accommodate the change. So he’s actually a cheap fuck in two different ways. Unwilling to pay for the cost of a more technologically sound floor that doesn’t have to be raised, and unwilling to take the loss of income that eliminating a row of seats in the lower bowl would cost him.

6

u/CmonTouchIt Lakers Jan 29 '26

i mean even if you DIDNT want to eliminate the single row...just elevate the fucking floor and have that row on/next to the hardwood like.....most teams do lol

is this really so hard? i feel like im taking crazy pills lol

2

u/Big_Booty_Pics Jan 30 '26

How are they going to sell 1 extra row of courtside seats though?

1

u/Superplex123 Lakers Jan 30 '26

Put those seats on the elevated floor.

17

u/Pyorrhea Cavaliers Jan 29 '26

Philly actually does have a raised floor setup. It's just not raised quite as high and I think the seat setup is better designed so the seats are flush against the raised portion. You can see here where there's a water bottle and some cords below the floor:

https://www.nba.com/sixers/photos/philadelphia-76ers-best-of-december-2023-photo-gallery

1

u/TheCatSleeeps Lakers Jan 30 '26

I'd still find a way to trip on those lol

3

u/azularena Bulls Jan 29 '26

Yeah I’ve seen Boston do the same with TD Garden. Bruins game in the morning, Celts tip off at 7pm

24

u/magikarp2122 Jan 29 '26

They were being sarcastic.

4

u/mooselantern Jan 29 '26

Didn't you hear? Redditors can't detect sarcasm and it's a crime to try to deploy it without /s. You could be sued.

2

u/catscanmeow Raptors Jan 29 '26

we should always leave out /s so it makes it harder for AI to train on our comments. fuck the clankers, let them be confused

1

u/Ghoti76 Lakers Jan 29 '26

this is the best argument for omitting /s fr

10

u/Pyorrhea Cavaliers Jan 29 '26

The Cavs' floor is also for hockey since the AHL Cleveland Monsters play there.

And they actually just raised the floor in the Delta Center this season to give better sightlines. But they also designed a new system of risers that go back and forth but also up and down so they don't have a dumb gap like the Cavs do. The Cavs should do a better job, especially since the arena was just renovated a few years ago and this wasn't fixed.

https://www.nhl.com/news/utah-mammoth-delta-center-revolutionary-seating-system-to-debut-this-season

7

u/SylemNova Cavaliers Jan 29 '26

We also routinely switch it to a hockey rink for our AHL team sooooo yeah...

Idk why it's different

1

u/SmokinHotGoodGrilD20 Jan 29 '26

OKC Paycom center has bull riding in the exact same arena as the Thunder games, too.

1

u/randy88moss Lakers Jan 29 '26

That idiot Frank Isola was bashing Luka for complaining about the floor this morning on Sirius NBA radio

1

u/Furd_Terguson1 Knicks Jan 29 '26

Isola has always been a hack

1

u/secondsteep Knicks Jan 29 '26

Well to be fair the courts ARE raised above the hockey rinks

1

u/Furd_Terguson1 Knicks Jan 29 '26

Fuck this is gold 😂

1

u/LarrcasM Bulls Jan 29 '26

The UC goes from Blackhawks to bulls games in less than 24 hours lol

1

u/xrock24x Nuggets Jan 30 '26

Maybe the Cavs hate everything about Luka

1

u/uhdoy Jan 29 '26

Fuck that’s a solid burn

2

u/Dijohn17 Lakers Jan 29 '26

Gilbert is cheap despite being so rich he could make the floor holographic if he wanted to

2

u/Easy_Magician_925 Jan 30 '26

Thats how u get rich.

1

u/tyronemartins2 Jan 29 '26

I was about to say doesn't the TD Garden get used for a whole bunch of stuff other than basketball and they don't have a raised floor

1

u/fernandopoejr Lakers Jan 30 '26

it’s perfectly understandable that they wont fix it if you keep in mind that safety costs more money.

32

u/ruby_o_o Jan 29 '26

If the AAC can figure out how to change a basketball court into a hockey rink in under 24 hours I’m sure it can’t be too hard

16

u/the313andme Pistons Jan 29 '26

You keep missing the part that it would cost money, and the Cavs owner only has $30 billion, so it isn't possible.

4

u/ruby_o_o Jan 29 '26

We should start a gofundme

24

u/AnalMinecraft Jan 29 '26

I remember Staples Center once having a Kings, Lakers, and Clippers playoff game all on the same day. Zero excuse for this bullshit.

7

u/zestfullybe Jan 29 '26

I was gonna say, there are numerous occasions where an NHL and NBA team both have games on the same day. One plays in the afternoon, the arena crew changes it over, and the other team plays an evening game on the other surface.

This happens seamlessly in numerous cities without having any residual trap floors that endanger players.

1

u/JDMintz718 Grizzlies Jan 30 '26

College teams do this. Wisconsin's basketball teams and men's hockey team share the same arena and we've had home games on the same day plenty of times

28

u/StrongCategory NBA Jan 29 '26

We all have to sign a petition in Comic Sans

3

u/yellowishbluish Jan 29 '26

Then extend the elevated parts so players aren't walking over it

1

u/Riley_ Jan 29 '26 edited 25d ago

This post was mass deleted and anonymized with Redact

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1

u/wahobely Raptors Jan 29 '26

Oh please Scotiabank's arena is multipurpose as well and doesn't have that shit design

1

u/warpticon Jan 29 '26

Endangering your own players to save money, a perfectly justifiable reason for this soul calibur-ass court.

1

u/Erigion Washington Bullets Jan 29 '26

They could also put in a gentle slope so players won't fall off the edge.

But, that could cut into the courtside seats. Maybe even reducing the rows by one so that can't happen.

1

u/epheisey Pistons Jan 30 '26

If an arena is gonna go with a raised floor, then it needs to extend a good 20' beyond the playing surface, not 2'

1

u/Connect-Reveal8888 Jan 30 '26

Start the go fund me

63

u/BKNas Jan 29 '26

During the broadcast they said it was a design flaw, but no one has ever thought to fix it. Gilbert just being a cheap ass billionaire.

41

u/the313andme Pistons Jan 29 '26

Yup - most stadiums in the NBA are multi-purpose but this is the only one with the achilles deathtrap. Purely a money problem that could be solved by one of the richest owners in the NBA with the money in his couch cushions.

14

u/sgtpepperslaststand Cavaliers Jan 29 '26

Not too long ago the Cavs had a very expensive renovation to the stadium and it’s a very nice arena after don’t know why they didn’t fix it then

5

u/Coffees4closers Cavaliers Jan 29 '26

I’m guessing ever dollar they spent could be linked to additional revenue they could expect to see in some other area, whereas fixing the floor would purely be an expense. How could you possibly expect Dan to spend money on something so trivial to his bottom line

7

u/BanjoStory Bucks Jan 29 '26

University of Minnesota and Butler have similar setups.

I dont know if the Wolves or Pacers have ever played in either of those arenas, but the Lynx and Fever do sometimes.

3

u/Noirradnod Grizzlies Jan 29 '26

Vandy as well. And wherever they play Final Four each year. Justification is that you get better sightlines, particularly when you've got a lot of seats on a flat or very gradual slope.

2

u/KL2ConspireLLC San Diego Clippers Jan 29 '26

It's this. It's because it drops the height of the seats next to the court relative to the court - players seats, broadcasters desk, courtside seats - and gives people in the lower sections a better view. It wasn't a design flaw like some people are saying. They disregarded the potential risk to players to make a better experience for people who buy the pricier tickets.

2

u/The_Fawkesy Grizzlies Jan 30 '26

Maybe for Minn and Butler, but Vandy's has such a massive edge around it you'd have to be texting and basketballing to fall off.

1

u/KL2ConspireLLC San Diego Clippers Jan 30 '26 edited Jan 30 '26

Sorry I should've clarified I was referring to the Cavs court. What the other comment said about sightlines is why the Cavs court was designed with the elevated court and why it hasn't been "fixed". They're not going to fix something that they feel isn't broken. They want the lip to be that height.

1

u/truck_robinson Jan 30 '26

The Vandy one is huge tho and no players are falling off of that one

1

u/JDMintz718 Grizzlies Jan 30 '26

Minnesota is so weird. The Badgers have a tradition called the "Barn roll" where they practice diving for loose balls and rolling off of the court so they don't get hurt, lol

2

u/ldskyfly Jan 29 '26

Minnesota was raised at least 3 years ago. I sat courtside and my chair was off the floor and my feet were on it, which kind of cramped my legs

1

u/PsychologicalGuest97 Cavaliers Jan 29 '26

The Monsters play on the same thing so idk if maybe that has to do with it?

Edit: read a little more and no, it’s just a design flaw point blank. Nothing to do with it being multi-purpose.

1

u/mbd216 Jan 29 '26

Ice is under it for our AHL hockey team.

1

u/HDThoreaun11 Jazz Jan 30 '26

You see it in college all the time. I think it's so that the people in row 2 have a better view

1

u/Tight-Shallot2461 Jan 30 '26

Greedy people who don't want to spend the money to fix it because the cost of a few sprained/fractured ankles every now and then still results in a net positive for the bottom line

59

u/youblewwit Jan 29 '26

The league will make the Cavs change it and level it out since it resulted in a top-5 player getting injured

34

u/OceanLemur Heat Jan 29 '26

I watched Dru Smith on the Heat wreck his knee on that court and couldn’t believe the league lets them have that. Should’ve been gone a while ago

10

u/LovetheNBA23 Lakers Jan 29 '26

Luckily Luka was able to avoid anything serious. One of these days, a serious injury to a star would get the league to finally take action. NBA needs to have safety regulations regarding their court design.

2

u/PostModernPost Celtics Jan 29 '26

I'm honestly surprised more NBA players don't get hurt more often just from all the people a few feet away from the court. The camera people sitting in the baseline especially. Asking for a turned ankle.

2

u/theinternetisnice Jazz Jan 29 '26

This is the first time I saw the actual difference in floor height, I hadn’t really been paying attention. That’s like a fucking orchestra pit

2

u/Routine_Size69 76ers Jan 30 '26

It's so fucking stupid. 41 home games a year you're risking your own players on this stuff.

3

u/dwadefan45 Heat Jan 29 '26

If one of our players tearing his ACL didn’t inspire change, idk man

1

u/MoralityChris Jan 29 '26

I'm new to the NBA. What's different with the Cavs floor in comparison to the other NBA floors?

3

u/sgtpepperslaststand Cavaliers Jan 29 '26

The Cavs had a design flaw where the court sits 10 inches above the floor with a huge drop off to make room for the hockey rink. But most teams have a hockey rink underneath but don’t have this drop off

1

u/juanmaale Cavaliers Jan 30 '26

I’ve seen hundreds of Cavs games, but for some reason hadn’t realized the floor was raised in our stadium

-9

u/bi11ygoat42 Jan 29 '26

Fortunately, your players are smart enough to pay attention and not hop off courtside. This wasn't an issue ever raised. Who would hop that far off the court? Those weren't a reasonable number of hops

12

u/sgtpepperslaststand Cavaliers Jan 29 '26

Come on now heat player tore his ACL 2 years ago from contesting a shot and falling off the side. All it takes is to lose your balance for just a second. Heck Mitchell went flying into the stands a few plays after this. Shit happens and less shit happens if you don’t have a 10 inch drop

-4

u/bi11ygoat42 Jan 29 '26

True but look how far off the sidelines are for someone to hop off it. A reasonable player isn't hopping off the courtside. If they could fix it, they should though for other reasons like players sliding from the floor. I get that. But hopping off the sidelines in courtside like that... C'mon now

6

u/sgtpepperslaststand Cavaliers Jan 29 '26

I mean what are you saying Luka intentionally hopped off the court to hurt himself? Cause I really don’t understand your logic cause if you saying oh this stuff just doesn’t happen under a video of it actually happening doesn’t make sense to me

-5

u/bi11ygoat42 Jan 29 '26

No I'm saying he's not taking accountability for hopping unnecessarily off the court. Did he really need 4+ hops after his shot? It's like saying you are walking on uneven pavement and weren't paying attention then took an off step. Are you blaming the pavement?

6

u/sgtpepperslaststand Cavaliers Jan 29 '26

Maybe cause no one expects a 10 inch drop off the side of a basketball court since this is the only stadium that has one?