[Injury] Luka Dončić hurts himself on the Cavaliers’ raised court:
That design is insane for a fast paced league that has so many injuries and out of bounds plays. Didn’t someone tear their ACL on that same part of the court? How has it not been changed?
Yes, Dru Smith on the Heat.
It would’ve probably ended his career if he was on a different team.
Potentially even ended his life if it weren’t for Heat culture
No shot he lives if he’s playing for Milwaukee
omg this got me lmao
you guys are funny af
They moved camera men and courtside seats on the baseline back further, as a result of players careening into them. Why would they leave a drop off on an already crowded sideline for fucks sake
because money and also dollars
Makes cents
How does this design make them more money? It just seems like a stupid decision
Gets you one extra row of seats courtside. But yeah, its dumb
THE WORMS ARE THEIR MONEY THE BONES ARE THEIR DOLLARS
For the uninitiated - how does a raised court increase revenue?
higher court = higher dollars. it’s that simple.
During the bubble, the courts were clear and players could run all the way under the basket. Will never happen due to money but it was awesome.
Honestly the bubble had some of the best basketball from a pure viewer perspective. Clear OBs so guys were going hard after every loose ball and no fan noise so you got to hear all the communication that goes on between the players during the game. It was great
The players loved having their own office with reclining lazy boys and mini fridges to sit at during the game instead of on each other’s laps.
You could put a million different things to make the same height further back, is sue the owners, can a player do that lol?
I used to be a cameraman and have been landed on many times, never was I hurt since we were always aware of the danger. These guys know how to fall on us no matter how hard they go down. This court being designed like this is like having a step that is an inch too short. Not expected and anyone can trip on it with injury even if known ahead of time.
Dru Smith did, thats your answer to why it hasn’t been changed. If Luka has a long term injury after this game I guarantee the league will set a new ruling on that type of setup.
Agreed, in fact Dru Smith recorded the rare 5x5 5x4 stat line last week and there was absolutely no fanfare from anyone. That’s how it goes for role players sometimes.
Wait did he? I’m a heat fan and I didn’t even hear anything about that.
Misread it, was 5x4 vs the Jazz. It was still a great game overall, but some heat “fans” still treat him like a waste of minutes.
This is ridiculous. How are multiple players getting injured in the modern age because of shitty court design?
Yea, fuck this court. Little Druski is doing great this year, but that court didn’t help his career. What a stupid design.
And the irony is the cost to change it is likely less than the game checks being paid to players injured by it.
How the fuck is that allowed, what a terrible design
I’ve only seen this upper court platform design in march madness for the tournament. I never seen nba teams do it.
Which is understandable, because they’re playing on a makeshift court because it’s on a football field.. this is a permanent design and is absolutely dumb
Vanderbilt and Minnesota also play on raised courts with their historic arenas. However, there is way more extra space on the edge of the court than the Cavs
Its also a way higher drop. I was at a Gophers game recently and the court is at like knee height
Wisconsin used to (maybe still does?) practice falling off the court.
When I was at the game a Badgers player had to jump over an entire row of fans in the front row to get to the walkway and land safely. Its crazy they even have fans next to the raised court
I mean, isn’t the whole reason they have them so they can charge more fans to sit close to court? It’s not like the NCAA or owners really care about injury unless it impacts their bottom line. Given this was Luka though… could see Cavs being forced to remodel
My university was like this because it was a hockey rink under the court. Court was taken apart after games to expose the hockey ice. I tripped on that court once working event staff while setting up
Yea that’s exactly how this is. There’s an AHL team that plays there as well
There’s a hockey team that plays there too
Didn’t that dude from Louisville snap his leg on those raised courts?
Man you just brung me back you talking about Kevin ware that was a super nasty injury but it had nothing to do with the platform court. He contested a jump shot and simply came down on his leg wrong.(do not go look at it the worst injury I ever watched live.)
You can’t definitively say the raised court had nothing to do with it. I could see how it might mess with your depth perception as to where the ground is
Nonsense. He had Hairline fractures in his shin, something that can happen in basketball
Just makes LeBron’s longevity even more insane as he dealt with this court for 11 years lmao
Booby trapping the arena for opposing teams new meta
Celtics used to have dead spots in their old parquet floor that they would funnel players towards but that was more to force turnovers. I think there was also a team that would open up their arena doors during opposing team free throws to encourage a draft that would push the ball off line.
Most accomplished organization in NBA history uh huh
I think the old Boston Garden wouldn’t be a legal building to use in today’s world
San Antonio has had bats, snakes, and questionable June air conditioning in rotation for years
I don’t know either
Hockey ice underneath
plenty of other arenas are able to deal with this without having a raised court
Including LA
And Toronto
I’m sure many others, I just specifically said LA cuz that’s his home court lol
And Orlando
God dammnit. ABOLISH ICE!!!
Yeah Sixers have an ice rink there also and there’s no height issue.
Crazy that the arena’s main tenant has a subpar setup so a minor league hockey team can play there
Ohio.
Seems like a MidWesternt thing. I still remember the one college court they raise up so far it looks like the sideline is a dugout.
Ah, it’s Minnesota and some others.
Vandy and Butler are the only others with raised courts.
Oh no not again 😭 not another victim
first time noticing this…how many players has this claimed
Just a few as far as I can remember, but 1 is more than necessary.
Is there an electrical substation under the court by any chance?
I hear they have electricity going into the arena. Very concerning.
Oh fuck, we can’t have none of that shit.
100% of people who are exposed to electricity will die at some point in their lives.
If they die, does it still count as a point in their life?
The entire arena is filled with oxygen and hydrogen, both flammable gases.
Electrical infetterance
No, we got the fiery river.
There is a sheet of ice under the plywood at the Rocket.
Dru Smith tore his ACL bc of this a year or two back
Evansville goat
dru smith tore his acl on it a couple years ago
It even claimed the Cavs own coach David Blatt one year.
“Lebron lost 4 Cavs finals with this much homecourt advantage in Cleveland” — Skip, probably
Same, how am I only now hearing about this. Surprised it hasn’t had more incidents like this with players running at full speed chasing the ball.
Piggybacking this comment to say he’s back in
That lip on the floor is such a huge oversight like wtf
The one in the AAC is actually towards the stanchion where the fans sit not courtside like this one which is definitely a weird thing to have
Vanderbilt was the first place I realized this raised floor was a thing a few years ago and it seemed super dangerous there too. I don’t know if anyone ever got hurt on their floor but it’s definitely strange. Apparently at Vandy it’s supposed to feel like a “stage” or something.
the final fours at jerry world and lucas oil with the elevated court are terrifying
Vandy is different, the raised court is so big that players aren’t in danger of going off the court or hitting the scorers table/benches in loose ball situations. I had season tickets there for a decade, never saw anyone get hurt except the one time Mr Commodore broke someone’s nose crowd surfing the student section.
I think it would be easy to argue that Vandy is the safest court in the country, based on how much room is available on the side and end lines. Pic for reference
Memorial is awesome. Seen some fun games in that gym.
Williams Arena, where the MN Gophers play is raised like 2 feet off the ground.
Looks really cool but I’ve always been kinda anxious about it.
Shit is hilarious when the fans try to rush the court though
https://youtube.com/shorts/TCBwfgO8u4Q?si=USQCCjaNO7iNa66y
LeBron: yeah I’m not coming back to this dumpster fire
how has this not been changed by now?
Money, most likely.
remember kids, idolizing money only gets people hurt in some sort of way
Right but hear me out, it also makes you a lot of money.
Money unfortunately is the answer to the majority of questions of “why the fuck?”
I assure you, Dan Gilbert ain’t hurtin for cash
That doesn’t mean he’ll spend it
Say what you will about Dan but he’s never been shy about spending his money on the Cavs.
maybe he has no way to transport the lumber from Home Depot.
Cavs are a 2nd apron team
Aren’t they worried they’re gonna get the ever living shit sued out of them tho?
You just expect the Cleveland Monsters to play their hockey game somewhere else?
Other multi-use arenas manage to have basketball courts that sit on the ice that don’t have a 10 inch drop off.
Yeah, in my 25+ years of watching Nuggets basketball in a stadium that shares with the Avalanche I haven’t seen a lip like this.
Now that one of NBAs golden boys got injured I’m sure they’ll change it (surely)
“Home court advantage”
Twisting your ankle followed by a 3-4 inch drop-off right onto the rolled ankle has to be a VERY painful experience
The problem is that it isn’t a 3-4 inch drop off. When Dru Smith tore his ACL on the same court, it was reported to be 10 inches.
Forget the drop, that’s a lethal corner at that point
You can see one of the trainers is SITTING on the edge of the court while treating Luka in the chair and they are level with him
He’s on a knee.
3-4 inches reported as 10 inches. It’s a bold move
I’m sorry but do you know how big 10 inches is?
That’s clearly not 10 inches. That’s insane to say that.
It is, I’ve done it before going down steps and didn’t see the last step could barely walk and took months to fully heal
Sure is. Honestly its the easiest way to roll ankle: curbs and small dropoffs
This is the kind of bullshit you’d expect in 1952, not 2026
“Player safety,” get the fuck outta here
It seems straight up negligent and the type of incident that might result in a lawsuit if it was in a public accessible area.
ah shit not another one
It really is such a bad design - like just fix it lol
this was planned. if it’s bad enough lebron might come back while Luka needs to sit for the year
Wtf kinda floor design is that
It’s like a trap for opposing teams. Cavs are probably aware of it but no one else is, what a sick joke.
they should get fined for every game they play with the floor like that
lol you think the opposing team walks in blindfolded or something? Or they get their memory wiped after each time they play there?
No but that’s a funny thought
If you think that’s bad, come play at The Barn aka the University of Minnesota’s court. It’s literally a 3 foot drop between the court and the bench. It’s insane.
Edit: Photo for reference.
Wtf hows that a legal court. Looks easy for someone to run off the edge if theyre hustling
Happens every other game or so. Great for the fans.
Holy shit lol
what kind of nutcase thought that was a good idea
That’s wild, but also in a way kind of harder to tweak your ankle because you have a split second to adjust haha.
This is sooooo dangerous what the hell
Design flaw according to RJ but I swear other arenas have this too
The court is actually just an elevated jigsaw above a layer in most places
I think the difference is the chairs sit on that court as opposed to this where the chairs are outside as well.
I never understood why they just don’t just extend a few panels so the bench is on the floor. It’s so dumb
Yeah, can the court not be extended like another 2-3 ft?
Yeah but then how would you position a bunch of assholes right there in the way of any player falling or playing to save the ball. Lmao the NBA sets up the sidelines like its Mario Kart and they need some sort of obstacles to potentially injure yourself with at every game
Yeah this design is so strange, like the players and people sitting courtside sit with their feet on the court but the chairs are sitting off the court below it?
that makes no fking sense…why is the court raised?
such an avoidable injury
I think this every time I watch the Final 4 in NCAA, they lift the he’ll out of those courts, the bench players are like 3 feet down.
I actually didn’t know the NBA had any courts like this.
The league bans Suggs from wearing a headband around his neck but won’t do something about an actual hazard.
Wow nice court Cleveland smh
Super Mario ass floor
Dru Smith lost 1 year on this same shit. Nobody cared, let’s see now with Luka if they fix this shit
Fuck Cleveland, bum ass court.
Dru Smith literally tore his ACL because of this stupid ass shit like two years ago and they haven’t fixed it.
Comic Sans ahh floor
Deep cut Cavs Comic Sans top tier reference, you are out of control bro
Dumbest shit I’ve ever seen
Nico Harrison foresaw this uneven piece of wood’s existence
Our boy Dru tore his acl on that court a few seasons ago
This should’ve been fixed when Dru Smith got hurt. It’s embarrassing, Cleveland.
Dru Smith tore his ACL on this court in his contract year. I thought his NBA career would be over.
Oh shit didn’t Dru Smith tore his ACL because of this court as well
They should have been forced to change after Dru Smith tore his ACL because of this. Absolutely ridiculous that this still exists
Netanyahu if you can hear me there are Hamas tunnels under Quicken Loans Arena
Netanyahu Palestinian children are in the Quicken Loans Arena
Are you fucking kidding me!? I didn’t even know this was a thing what the fuck
Why would you make it like that
Did he just lose a top 2 MVP finish and 1st team ALL NBA nod because of bad court design lol? That 65 game requirement getting real close
He’s back in
He’s back hopefully he’s good the rest of the season
Honest question, if he perhaps tore his ACL, could Luka sue the arena or the cavs?
Dru Smith’s ACL remembers.
Dru smith tore his ACL because of this fkin court bruh. Bush league shit by Cleveland not correcting this obvious problem.
Surprised they haven’t changed it yet, been an issue for awhile
who asled for a raised court
Figers crossed he’s good, you’d think NBA courts would be safer than that
Wait there is an NBA court that’s raised? The fuck? How is that allowed
wtf is that garbage court design
Seriously Cleveland wtf
To hear the announcers say it’s a flaw in this stadium specifically and that its never been fixed is straight up bullshit
He’s okay thank god
Unacceptable design honestly
Nah F that, that might have just cost Luka the season
Take picks away from Cavs for having a dangerous court design
wtf that’s so unsafe
How many times did he really need to hop on 1 foot after the brick? Seriously. Such a dumb way to get injured.
I never understood these elevated courts. So stupid.
Well that design was fucking stupid
Who approved this court design? Obvious hazard.
It’s unfathomable that dudes have literally torn their ACL on this court and the NBA has done nothing
How did that design pass?
How the fuck is this legal in the most premium league in the world
Injured while aura farming…
After Kevin Ware, how is this still allowed. I saw one at a Remix game the other day as well.
Awful design but also where is he going? On another court theres a chair or something there
On a normal court he’s bumping into a chair or having a harmless fun interaction with a fan and then continuing on
Ya I think it’s time the league gets involved… we’ve had acl tears and so many injuries bc of this stupid shit
And why is this court allowed?
I’m sorry a raised court wtf is that?
The league doesn’t give a fuck about player safety time and time again. Someone is going to have their career ruined because some dumbass thought for some reason an elevated court is a good idea
Send the floor designer to Azkaban!
Why is that like that? Like did the designer just look at basketball players and say, “Fuck them ankles”
Justice for Dru Smith
Imagine LeBron ending his career this way, in his hometown
lol so dumb. Why would the court be elevated? Ridiculous this is allowed
Cleveland
Heat fans vindicated
Same lip Dru Smith of the Heat tore his acl on and lost him for the season
League should fine Cleveland every time this happens.
How can they be so cavalier with the design!?
Terrible design but why is he hopping out of bounds? He took the shot and then kept hopping. There was no reason for him to do that.
Stupid as design