点击查看原文：Timberwolves court issue causes Spurs bizarre delay
Timberwolves court issue causes Spurs bizarre delay
MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA - DECEMBER 29: Keldon Johnson #0 of the San Antonio Spurs drives to the basket against Julius Randle #30 of the Minnesota Timberwolves in the first quarter at Target Center on December 29, 2024 in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Spurs forward Harrison Barnes was enjoying a pregame meal before Sunday night’s game in Minnesota when the text message came through.
It turns out, he had an extra hour to savor dinner.
About 2 ½ hours before a scheduled 7 p.m. tipoff at the Target Center, players were informed the game would be delayed until 8 p.m. to correct a problem with the playing surface.
The news did not come as a shock to Barnes.
“During (morning) shootaround we saw whatever was going on,” Barnes said. “The paint was coming off. It’s the first time I’ve seen that in the league.”
Target Center crews addressed the issue by swapping out the floor for a different one, a laborious task that pushed tipoff back by an hour.
In the end, it was all’s well that ends well.
“Luckily they got it changed and it was no issue,” Barnes said.
Spurs acting coach Mitch Johnson said the delay did not affect preparations for the game, which Minnesota eventually won in a nail-biter 112-110.
“If it was something earlier (that moved tipoff up), that could really upset a guy’s pregame meal or pregame nap or that sort of thing,” Johnson said. “If anything, this was probably just an annoyance because (players) wanted to play at the regular tipoff time.”
Spurs’ backup big men are back
After shortening his rotation to nine players for the first three games of the Spurs’ four-game road trip, Johnson stretched it out again Sunday.
Notably, it marked the return of backup big men Charles Bassey and Zach Collins from the mothballs.
Bassey had not played since a Dec. 23 loss at Philadelphia, taking DNPs against New York and Brooklyn. Collins had even more rust to loosen. He had not played since a Dec. 8 win over New Orleans.
“We have multiple guys who are not playing or not playing as much minutes as we want, and at some point it’s just a numbers game,” Johnson said. “Sometimes you make calls or decisions, and you don’t always know until the results tell you if you’re right or wrong.”
Neither Bassey nor Collins made a case for more playing time when the Spurs return home Tuesday to face the Los Angeles Clippers in a New Year’s Eve tilt at the Frost Bank Center.
Bassey logged four minutes and 42 seconds at Minnesota, and was largely ineffective with four points and a pair of rebounds.
Collins played seven minutes, picked up three fouls, committed one turnover and did not record another statistic.
Johnson said he felt for Collins especially, given the prolonged nature of his layoff.
“When you have good people that want to do well, not just for themselves but for the teammate next to him, sometimes that can work against you as a human,” Johnson said. “Just because you want it so bad you override your instincts.”
Brown’s firing displeases Barnes
Barnes said he was disappointed to learn of the dismissal of Mike Brown as head coach in Sacramento last week.
Barnes played for the Kings for two seasons under Brown. He was there in 2022-2023 when Brown won NBA Coach of the Year honors after the club broke a 16-season playoff drought.
“Mike was instrumental in changing the culture in Sacramento,” Barnes said. “In this business, there’s a lot of things that happen that are difficult to explain, if there even isa way to explain them. It’s one of those difficult situations.”