By Johnny Askounis/ info@eurohoops.net
The Chicago Bulls and Miami Heat did not meet each other according to the initial schedule of the 2025-26 NBA Regular Season due to moisture on the floor of the United Center, rendering the court unplayable, the league announced following a long delay on the initially scheduled tip-off on Thursday evening.
Per the press release: “The National Basketball Association game scheduled for tonight between the Miami Heat and Chicago Bulls at United Center has been postponed due to moisture on the floor rendering the court unplayable.
The date for the rescheduled game will be announced at a later time.”
Crew chief Sean Wright talked to K.C. Johnson of Chicago Sports Network following the announcement.
“At 9:13 on the warm-up clock, some Miami players came and said the court was really slippery and, at the same time, some Bulls players came over as well. So, I checked the court conditions and then I immediately got on the horn and notified the Replay Center what was going on,” he explained.
“We weren’t notified until 9:13 on the warm-up clock, that’s why it went down to the zeros,” continued Wright on why the decision was officially confirmed right before the adjusted tip-off time.
The Bulls and the Heat, alongside the NBA, fell short of resolving the situation in this timeframe.
“We tried to work together to see if we could fix the problem,” Wright referred to immediate reactions. “We had ongoing talks and tried some different stuff on the court, and nothing seemed to work.”
“Despite the efforts by the United Center to rectify the situation, we were unsuccessful in doing so. We decided that player safety was most important and we just couldn’t guarantee a safe on-court experience,” he added.