Hi there, Heat fan here.
After the Dru Smith injury I wondered this. This is the first time I’m seeing someone get injured because the court is elevated in relation to the arena’s floor. Has it always been like this? Have other people ever injured themselves before?
Spoelstra said in the post game interview that this has been an issue in past games, but I honestly can’t recall when this has happened before.
And what are your opinons about this? I can only assume that it’s an even bigger risk for the Cavs’ players, since they’re the ones playing the most games tehre.
On the Nate Duncan podcast they reported that apparently the issue is that there’s a several inch ledge once you leave the playing area, right under the courtside seats, so if you close out into that area, you could land awkwardly.
Apparently the Cleveland court is the only one in the NBA where this is the case.