Is The New Ball SHITTY??

[WoobieZarz]

Looks like the answer is YES...

The NBA is planning a return to its leather basketball on Jan. 1, sources said Monday afternoon.

Commissioner David Stern has said in the last week that he was considering changing from the new synthetic basketball that has been met with near-universal bashing by the players. The ball was part of the reason the NBA players' association filed unfair labor practices against the league last week.

While details of the transition have not been finalized and the official date for the return of the old ball could change, the sources said the leather ball that was used for 35 years will be back in play before midseason.

It won't come soon enough for players who were irritated with the unnatural feel of the micro-fiber composite ball. They also had been getting the equivalent of nasty paper cuts on their fingertips and palms because of uneven ridges in the new ball.

The players were upset not only with the fact that the new ball is too sticky when it's dry and too slippery when it has sweat on it, but by the way the league made the change without significant consultation with the players.

It is unknown whether the league will commission Spalding, which makes both the new and old ball, to work on a different version for future seasons.

Players from Shaquille O'Neal to Steve Nash to Dirk Nowitzki had said they were strongly opposed to the new ball.

"If it's played with for two months or if it's brand new, it feels bad,'' Nowitzki said near the start of the season.

If the change is made on Jan. 1, it means most teams will have about 50 games left in the regular season.

 

[Funkadelic]

I new this would have to be coming. Stern is a genius.

Now if they could do something about this so called "zero tolerance" reffing.

 

[justdabestcards]

wow. it makes sense to go back to the original ball. everyone semms towant it and I guess Spalding would have already sold hundreds of thousands of the new balls, with royalties going to the NBA of course. Now they can sell more of the old balls again too.

 

[Ja$e]

I tried out a Nike composite ball the other day and I thought it was great! Awesome feel and was incredibly light, didn't get to shoot with it though. Also not sure how similar it is to the Spalding one.

 

[samtheman]

According to Steve Nash and some other players the ball actually gives "paper cuts" once the ball is wet.

 

[Allstar cards inc]

As I've said before about the Molten balls....the composite ones are too "pingy" (is that a word??). I find when you dribble they sometimes bounce like a superball....and unless you swish it when shooting you can almost forget about getting a lucky roll.
But the NBA players seem to have other problems...dry, sticky and papercuts. (I've seen fast bowlers get paper cuts from the seam on a new ball.)
Do the NBA players use a brand-new ball every game??

 

[Trey]

a shop here in sydney has the "new" ball...my mate had a feel and said it was like a $20 KMart outdoor ball...complete garbage he said...

bring back the leather!

 

[theflyinggerco]

This whole thing sounds a lot like bringing back Slurm as Slurm Classic!

Supposedly the players, and rightly so, werent real happy about not being consulted about the new ball. They had Steve Kerr and Reggie and Cheryl Miller shoot the ball to see what it was like... thats like asking Shane Warne to test a new cricket ball and saying it must be alright if Shane Warne can bowl with it.

Also the fact that you only played with a Spalding leather ball once you got to the NBA had a certain amount of pride attached to it. Its a bit hard to understand, as bloody U'11's use Sherrin footy, and Kookaburra cricket balls are used everywhere as well,.

Hopefully the dont change the ball again, and if they do, they give the players a say in it...

 

[Trey]

there was no point in changing something that didnt need to be...

if it aint broke...dont fix it!

 

[WoobieZarz]

I love the new NBL balls.

Bought one ages ago, and it's the best I've had indoors. Outdoors, I wouldnt use it. There's an outdoor ball I've used that's really grippy when you have slightly sweaty hands. I can pretty much palm it when posting up, love it.

I think they have like 5-6 new balls at each game (NBA) don't they? Incase they have a "technical difficulty" or some shit. I couldnt imagine playing with a ball that deteorates tho.

 

[Allstar cards inc]

Supposedly the players, and rightly so, werent real happy about not being consulted about the new ball. They had Steve Kerr and Reggie and Cheryl Miller shoot the ball to see what it was like... thats like asking Shane Warne to test a new cricket ball and saying it must be alright if Shane Warne can bowl with it.

...

At least Warnie still plays....it'd be more like getting Greg Matthews, Dennis Lillee and Belinda Clark to test it!!!:shock:
Until you've played with it in match-type conditions day in, day out for a period of time can anyone make an accurate judgement.