<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div><div class='quotemain'>News-Herald - Count LeBron James as one player who hasn't stopped voicing objections regarding the NBA's new composite basketball."I don't think I ever will," he replied when asked if he'll ever become accustomed to it. "It's not a good basketball, in my opinion. You've been so used to playing with a leather ball for the last three years. It feels like a basketball you buy for your kids at Christmas, or something."If you want to change something, make our shorts shorter or our jerseys smaller and tell us how to wear wristbands," he said. "You change the dress code."The one thing we care about is the basketball. I don't understand why would you change the one thing we agree and care about. When you change the thing we play with at every single game and in every practice, that we were comfortable with, it doesn't make sense to me at all."</div>He makes some valid points and I agree with him. It's one thing to change the way a player looks but It's another to change a piece of history. This ball has been around for ages, If it's not broke. Dont fix it. Regardless of what David Stern thinks. These amazing talented athletes are what make this league great. David Stern doesn't have to play with the ball. He needs to put himself in the players shoes for once. It's one thing to take away their wristbands it's another to take away the ball they have been playing with every day for their entire life.
I completely agree with LeBron's asessment of the new ball. What was the reason to change it? Sure it looks a bit more flashy but is it really better than the old one? No. Simply because just about every player that has spoken out about it has had a negative comment. I agree, why change the one thing all the players agree upon and care about?
Idk why they changed it and it is kinda stupid but... who cares? It's a fuggen basketball this just shows how picky NBA players really are. I'll play basketball with a fu*kin soccer ball if it's the only thing around. damn.1
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (the Q @ Nov 8 2006, 01:41 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>Idk why they changed it and it is kinda stupid but... who cares? It's a fuggen basketball this just shows how picky NBA players really are. I'll play basketball with a fu*kin soccer ball if it's the only thing around. damn.1</div>Who cares? OBVIOUSLY the players. They have been using a leather ball their whole life, and they grew up and expanded their game using that ball. Now, they are bringing in a new one? That calls for a lot of adjustment, and it has to be worse on the veterans. Like T-Mac for example, after all his years in the NBA and proving that he's a superstar player, he has to adjust a lot of things and he's really struggling. It's a huge adjustment, not only does it have a different feel, but you have to adjust your shot, your passing (TJ Ford said he can't even do his skip pass anymore), your release, etc.I'm with LeBron, there is no point to this, just David Stern taking advantage of his power.
They've changed the ball before in the past(I know it was like 50-60 years ago but still). You can't expect them to use the same ball forever, it's called evolution. Also, I don't get these comments about balls you get for Christmas or when you were a kid. I've had authentic leather balls when I was a kid and still do. I mean it's not like they were hard to get by price range like the new one is(100 bucks).
It's ridiculous. As you can see, TO's are VERY high so far, shooting percentages down, and FT % WAY down. Of course that will get a bit better over time, but IMO the leather ball is the better ball, and almost every player agrees with that (I have never played with the new NBA ball, but have played with the synthetic basketballs before). Chaning the ball is changing history, and everyone appears to feel for the worse. The old ball was working perfectly fine.
Like Rok said it's evolution. The players will have to adapt because the change is being made for the long run. The leather ball is better to current players but in the future, the new ball will be normal to newer players. It's something Stern had to do.
I agree. There was no need to change the ball. Everyone agreed on it, and it was fine. Stern is just a power freak, and he keeps on trying to come up with ideas to improve the NBA.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Blaze @ Nov 8 2006, 03:43 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>Like Rok said it's evolution. The players will have to adapt because the change is being made for the long run. The leather ball is better to current players but in the future, the new ball will be normal to newer players. It's something Stern had to do.</div>So risking possibly a few years of sloppier ball is the better way to go? Especially with a ball that makes jumpshooting harder, and harder to handle. There was no need to change the ball, it was doing its purpose perfectly. Other changes, like the 24 second clock were musts, but this ball has worked fantastically for over half a century.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Blaze @ Nov 8 2006, 04:43 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>Like Rok said it's evolution. The players will have to adapt because the change is being made for the long run. The leather ball is better to current players but in the future, the new ball will be normal to newer players. It's something Stern had to do.</div> It's something Stern had to do? Why?
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div><div class='quotemain'>Especially with a ball that makes jumpshooting harder, and harder to handle.</div> I thought players said it's going to benefit spot up shooters and also has a good grip. Only issues I heard is when players are on the move trying to make something happen with the ball, that causes turnovers. Or when the ball becomes wet.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Rok @ Nov 8 2006, 10:24 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>I thought players said it's going to benefit spot up shooters and also has a good grip. Only issues I heard is when players are on the move trying to make something happen with the ball, that causes turnovers. Or when the ball becomes wet.</div>Hence making it harder to handle :dribble: And with the lower shooting % this season, especially from 3 and FT line, and how this ball has little give to banking off back rim and such, I am pretty sure it is a harder ball to shoot.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div><div class='quotemain'>And with the lower shooting % this season, especially from 3 and FT line, and how this ball has little give to banking off back rim and such, I am pretty sure it is a harder ball to shoot.</div> With only 4-5 games into the season. I hardly think you should be looking at the percentages that can easily be skewed.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Rok @ Nov 9 2006, 02:11 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>With only 4-5 games into the season. I hardly think you should be looking at the percentages that can easily be skewed.</div>If they were fairly small differences, then sure, but free throws have been on a BIG decline. TO's have been WAY up (every night at least 2-3 players are having 5+ TO's, and Pierce just had 12 last night).I am sure it is not soley because of the ball, but I think there is definately some relation.
I don't know what's the deal about changing a ball.I play with different balls every day of my life, I play the same with all of them. It's not like one ball makes you good and the other makes you suck
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div><div class='quotemain'>If they were fairly small differences, then sure</div> Normally, skewed stats should be huge differences. If they were small, then it would hardly be skewed. Numbers right now show huge differences but as the year goes on, the differences should even out. If they don't, then that means there's a problem. But right now, I'm not looking into the stats much at all to determine the ball's negativity.
