Workers try to dry the court before an NBA basketball game between the Philadelphia 76ers and the Sacramento Kings was postponed, Wednesday, Nov. 30, 2016, in Philadelphia. AP
Condensation that left slippery wet spots on the floor of the Philadelphia 76ers arena forced officials to postpone their NBA game against the Sacramento Kings on Wednesday.
The Sixers announced the decision an hour after the scheduled tip-off, with a make-up date for the contest still to be determined.
“Arena officials worked diligently to address the issue, but NBA officials determined that the court was not suitable for play,” the 76ers said in a statement, adding that the decision was made “with player safety in mind”.
The Kings had a little fun with the odd situation, posting on their Twitter feed: “Tonight’s game has been postponed… y’all can trust the process but not the floor?” in a reference to the lowly Sixers’ mantra of “trusting the process” of rebuilding.
Philadelphia’s Cameroonian center Joel Embiid also joked about the postponement on Twitter.
“Well The court was tanking tonight.” Embiid tweeted, a sly reference to accusations that the Sixers have thrown away past seasons to improve their draft prospects.
But the damp floor put a damper on the 76ers’ plans to increase the playing time of Embiid, the third overall pick in the 2014 draft who didn’t play an NBA game until this season because of surgeries to repair a foot injury.
Embiid’s strict limit of 24 minutes per game—designed to protect him from further injury—was to increase to 28 starting on Wednesday.
Sixers coach Brett Brown said the prospect of the seemingly modest increase left him “giddy”.
“Everybody would see the impact that Joel has when he is on the floor,” Brown said. “The four minutes by all indications will give us a better chance of winning.”
Embiid, who leads the 76ers—and all NBA rookies—in scoring (18.2 points per game), rebounding (7.8) and three-point percentage (.500), said the minutes increase came after a scan showed his right foot is holding up to the demands of NBA play.
“I’m happy that those guys trust me and I’m able to play more minutes,” he said, “and I’m going to make the most out of it.”