MINNEAPOLIS _ Monday night's Timberwolves game against Portland at Target Center was postponed because of condensation on the court, caused by unseasonably warm temperatures and high humidity in Minneapolis and the fact that there is a sheet of ice under the court.
The announcement came at 7:03 p.m., right before the scheduled tipoff time. The game will be rescheduled at a later date.
Target Center typically does not have ice underneath the basketball court. However, the rink was used by Disney On Ice over the weekend, and it will be used again for the National Collegiate Hockey Conference tournament March 17-18.
"It's really slippery," Wolves forward Shabazz Muhammad said before the postponement was announced. "You can't play on that."
Muhammad added, "Unless they have some magic fans in here, I don't see how we're going to play."
The court was dry for morning shootaround, but was slick when players went out to warm up before the game. Both Trail Blazers and Wolves players expressed concern; for much of the hour before the game, Target Center workers were working on drying the court while Wolves officials and the game officials stay in contact with the league, which will make the final decision on whether to play the game.
Wolves Vice President of Communications Brad Ruiter said the problem was due to the humidity and the ice, with most of the condensation forming around the edges of the court, then being tracked onto the court by players.
"So what we're doing right now is we cleared everybody off the court, and they're working on the court," Ruiter said. "We took the temperature at Target Center and lowered it down as far as it could possibly go, to cool it down a little bit more. We have let the fans in the building, so we're planning on playing at this point."
Before that update, players on both sides expressed concern about the condition of the floor. Wolves rookie guard Kris Dunn said it was quite slick. Asked if the game could be played under those conditions, Dunn said no. "On a slippery court?" he said. "That's like playing tennis in the rain. It's just not happening. It just won't happen."
Meanwhile, Blazers player Meyers Leonard said the floor was "as slick as snot."
This was the second NBA game this season postponed due to a slippery floor; a Kings-76ers game in Philadelphia was postponed from Nov. 30 to Jan. 30 for the same reason, unseasonably warm temperatures combined with a floor above a sheet of ice.
Portland also had a home January game against the Pistons postponed one day because of bad weather in Oregon.
