Shortly after the
arrived at the AT&T Center in San Antonio on Thursday for Game 2 of their playoff series against the Spurs, they found a snake in their locker room.
Blazers sixth man
has the visual via his Instagram:
Now, how does a rattlesnake make its way inside the locker of a player at an NBA arena? Hmmm. And should this be a good omen or a bad omen for the Blazers as they look to even up their best-of-seven series against the Spurs on Thursday night?
Here are coach
' thoughts on the snake situation, via Joe Freeman:
Q: So, was the snake planted or was it an accident?
Stotts:
You’re the investigative reporter. You’ll figure it out.
Q: Ever seen anything like that in an NBA locker room?
Stotts:
Uh. No.
Q: What kind snake, how long?
Stotts:
They said it was a rattlesnake .. and maybe three to four feet. I don’t know. They said it was a young one.
Q: Any screamers?
Stotts:
I wasn’t here for it, but one tweet said that Thomas jumped a few feet.
Q: What is your take on it?
Stotts:
It’s bizarre to have a venomous snake in your locker room. I don’t know if it’s happened before. That sounds like an ABA story.
Q: Who corralled it?
Stotts:
I think some people here.
Q: A rattlesnake specialist? (joke)
Stotts:
Yeah. They have them on hand. At the AT&T Center, they have a specialist. (joking, laughter from group).
Q: Bad sign right off the top:
Stotts:
Or a good sign. We survived.
Q: If you were clever, you would have taken it and planted it in the Spurs' locker room:
Stotts:
That thing is like Fort Knox over there. You can’t get in. (laughter from group)
Q: Or maybe the officials' dressing room:
Stotts:
I can’t comment on the officials. (laughter from group)
And here's
's account of how it happened:
Q: Someone try to set you up?
Robinson:
I don’t know. I’m telling (Barton) that’s a sign. He doesn’t believe me.
Q: A good sign or a bad sign?
Robinson:
We’ll find out tonight.
Q: You ever seen one in person before?
Robinson:
No. I’m scared of them. I’m a city boy. (laughs).
Q: How big?
Robinson:
Three to four feet.
Q: Danny Green is the guy?
Robinson:
Yeah, Danny Green is our first victim. We’re coming for him. (joking)
Q: You didn't scream, you just jumped?
Robinson:
I screamed, jumped, yelled, all that.
Q: The story:
Robinson:
We came into the locker room, was getting undressed, and I was putting my shoes down here in the cubby and I double looked and I see what I thought I seen.
Q: Hissed at you?
Robinson:
It was a quick one and then I got back.
Q: Stay in there or come out?
Robinson:
It took a couple minutes for everybody to believe me. “There’s a snake in my locker.” But everybody thought I was playing, until they came over and looked for ourselves. And then he told us to get away from it, it was a rattlesnake.
Q: Who jumped on a chair first?
Robinson:
I don’t know. I jumped over there (motions to the other side of locker room).
Will was on his chair over there. Meyers was over there.
Everybody was off the floor, for sure.
I’m scared of stuff like that. I’m not used to seeing stuff like that. In the locker room. That’s the last place.
Q: What color?
Robinson:
Black and white. Spurs.