The Phoenix Suns current court in the Madhouse on McDowell looks wild

The Phoenix Suns are hosting individual workouts at their old arena, the Madhouse on McDowell ad seeing the new floor in the historic space is startling.

I first speculated back in March that if regular season play were to resume, Phoenix Suns home games would have to take place at Veterans Memorial Collesium, affectionately known as the Madhouse on McDowell. That has since been confirmed and in addition to any home games that might be played, the Madhouse is serving as the sole Suns’ practice facility now that the NBA has allowed individual workouts.

Just to do a written-word equivalent of a Tik Tok I-told-ya-so dance (yep, I’m one of those 30-plus-year-olds who jumped on the bandwagon during quarantine), I also did some light-hearted speculation on which players would take advantage of the new, relaxed rules that allow players to participate in these workouts.

The easiest guess came was confirmed today when Jevon Carter posted on his Instagram Story a quick clip of the interior of the arena with the caption, “It’s good to be back.” It is absolutely no surprise it was the Bulldog who was one of the first players are to get back in the gym as soon as possible. The man’s work ethic is one of the main reasons he is where he is today.

There are a handful of other people, but they are too far away to tell if they are other players (only four are allowed in the facility at a time, per league rules) or if they are training staff (no head coaches or assistant coaches are allowed).

What is most startling, however, is the floor. They transplanted Talking Stick Arena’s court to the Madhouse on McDowell and it looks wild.

The contrast of the old, dingy, and small arena surrounding this modern hardwood messes with your mind. It’s like looking at supermodel all dressed up driving an old beat-up Ford Pinto. It just doesn’t compute.

It makes sense why they repurposed the floor. They had to do something with it while the Stick is under renovation and the new practice facility isn’t finished yet, it’s just crazy to actually see.

Unfortunately, it’ll be unlikely many people get to see this in person. I can’t imagine the NBA allowing fans to pack arenas if and when play resumes this season, so just like most everything else we’ve had to do the last two and a half months, we’ll have to enjoy this virtually, from afar.