HOUSTON – The slate gray of the Warriors’ NBA Cup floor is reminiscent of the same outdoor courts every player once spent time on growing up. It didn’t have to be iconic venues of Venice Beach and all across New York. At some point, all hoopers have bounced a ball on concrete.
Not too many have done so on a yellow, blue or red court, though. The Warriors’ other locations of the NBA Cup so far – New Orleans, Denver and now Houston – have been a much different sight for sore eyes.
"This one's not too bad,” Moses Moody said ahead of the Warriors’ road game against the Denver Nuggets earlier this month. “The ones we've played on this year I haven't felt like were too bad. But last year, the first time playing OKC with that blue court, it felt like a lot was going on in my head self-consciously."
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Surrounded by red trim, the Pelicans went with a bright blue hardwood and their logo 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 on top, 112-108.
Neither team shot the lights out. The Warriors shot 44.8 percent overall and 32.4 percent from 3-point range, and the Pelicans were slightly worse at 44.6 percent from the field and 30.8 percent on threes.
It seemed like the yellow of the Nuggets’ home court at Ball Arena wasn’t a problem for the Warriors, until their offense went ice-cold down the stretch, failing to score for the final two-and-half minutes in a frustrating four-point loss.
The color of the court isn’t the reason the Warriors lost that game. The referees missing Christian Braun’s attempt at a timeout call with none left probably isn’t either.
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If the mustard yellow of that design is having a moment atop the condiment power rankings thanks to Kendrick Lamar’s literal shout on his newest hit, ketchup is Houston’s choice of sauce, or so that’s what their NBA Cup court shows.
The stands will be decked out in all red Wednesday night at Toyota Center. So will the floor. Inside a black trim around the court, the Warriors and Rockets will be playing on three different shades of red for a chance to move onto the semifinals in Las Vegas.
"It's interesting,” Kevon Looney said Tuesday after practice. “I don't think I've ever played on a red court. It's going to be my first time, so we're going to see how it goes."
Joking that he’s thankful for his good vision, Gary Payton II says he’ll have to glance at the floor once or twice to get a feel for the lines, but after that, it’s all the same.
The first that came to mind for Payton when thinking about the creativity of the NBA Cup courts was an ode to Boise State football. It’s also an opportunity for fashion in his eyes.
“First thing I've seen is the blue field at Boise State back in the day,” Payton said Wednesday after Warriors shootaround. “We've got all different colored courts for the Cup. I like it, it's cool. Throw the shoes on there, off match it with the jersey.
“It's a nice little fashion piece the league is doing there."
Practices and shootarounds on the road have given the Warriors all the extra time they’ve needed to adjust visually to the marketing of the NBA Cup. Players and coaches seem perfectly fine with the league trying something different to spice it up and make the Cup stand out from the rest of the games.
As for if it gets in the way of shooting, nobody is going to use that as an excuse.
"Nah, I'm only looking at the rim,” Brandin Podziemski said. “The rim's always orange. That's all I look at."
Red will be everywhere in Houston. The two hues of orange – for the ball and the rim – and the white of the net, are the only colors that matter to the Warriors in getting one step closer to the gold of the NBA Cup trophy, and the green that comes from the cash prize.