<div align="center"><u><span style="font-size:18pt;line-height:100%">A new season, a new ball, a new controversy</span></u>By: KCXThroughout preseason, the biggest controversy surrounded, not a player, but the new basketball that was going to be used. With this new addition came many opinions from the players. Lets hear some of them, shall we?Shaquille O’Neal stated that it feels like “one of those cheap balls you buy at the toy store, indoor-outdoor balls.” Meanwhile, on the other side of the country, Steve Nash mentioned that he is “having a hard time holding it and making some passes.” Even coach Van Gundy said “it seems like the ball is slipping out of their hands a lot.”So is there any proof that this is true?<span style="font-size:12pt;line-height:100%">Lose the Ball</span>Take a look at some interesting information I found on the internet:<div align='center'> <span style="font-size:8pt;line-height:100%">source: 82games.com</span></div>Many people believe that the ball is more slippery because it becomes slick when it is wet. The ball does not absorb water like the old leather ball. According to this chart, there are less lost balls (from dribbles, steals, strips, and losing the ball without passing) this year (3.5) than last year (4.1). Some of you may argue there are more violations this year but due to David Stern’s new increase of strict rules, that is something that deals more with officials than with the new ball. Point: New Ball<span style="font-size:12pt;line-height:100%">Pass the Ball</span>With no surprise to us, Mark Cuban on blogmaverick.com claims that the new ball was “hurting point guards”. He felt sorry for Nash when he got 10 turnovers against Dallas and basically made it clear that it was the ball’s fault. But if you look at the 6 games before, you will find that Nash only had 17 turnovers total which is lower than his usual. If you take a look at the elite PGs of the NBA, many of their turnovers per game stat is not much different this year than last year such as Billups (up 0.3 tpg this year), Arenas (same), and Baron Davis (lower than last year). Passing a problem? I don’t think so. Point: New Ball<span style="font-size:12pt;line-height:100%">Shoot the Ball</span>Many players also feel like the ball has affected their shooting. Before the season started, Vince Carted stated, “I just don’t like the feel. It’s not really an NBA basketball; when it gets wet, its like playing with a bowling ball.” <div align="center"> <span style="font-size:8pt;line-height:100%">Carter hits a game winning shot over the Washington Wizards</span></div>However, he may want to change his mind after he beat the Wizards recently with a game winning shot where the basketball hit the rim, died on the rim, and bounced into the basket. In fact, the ball seems to have helped outside shooters.If you look at the data I posted earlier in this article, you will see that the 3 pointers made is the same as last season which only supports the fact that the ball is indeed, more helpful than hurtful. Point: New Ball. <span style="font-size:12pt;line-height:100%">Other Observations</span>One of the things I found most interesting was that the league has improved from the free throw line by 1.2%. You may think this is insignificant but think again. That is a very impressive improvement when you think about LeBron James has shot the most free throws this season as a merely 70%. This proves the ball gives a shooters bounce and helps out the players when they shoot. 2 Points: New Ball<span style="font-size:12pt;line-height:100%">Conclusion</span>So you can see that the negativity about the ball is overrated. All the complaining about the feel of the ball, the handling of it, or the shooting of it is not as bad as it seems to be. So the ball helps out a free throw once out of 100 attempts, it still helps rather than helps right?So like my buddy Doc Rivers says:<div align="center"> "I think there's a resistance to change in all of us. Whether it's cheerleaders, a dress code, a new ball, whatever. People don't like change. I just think that's the way life is."</div>The real problem is that people liked the old ball and they did not feel like the ball needed to be changed. And as for the new impact of the ball: 99 out of 100 times, it has no effect. </div>
I've heard things that Stern changed it because of pressure from pro-animal organizations such as PETA. They disliked the leather ball. But If it really does cut hands then the union really does have a case on this.
Great article, KCX. Well written, nice facts, good use of statistics, and nice Doc Rivers picture lol. + Rep for you.Yeah, the ball really doesn't seem to be affecting anything like the players thought it would, but at the same time, I can't say anything because I havn't used the new ball yet. Even with these facts, I still feel that David Stern should have taken this up with the players before just doing it.
Very good article, seems like the new ball will actually benefit the NBA. It's always that people hate change, and that might just be the case here. Hopefully it is.
If you guys didn't hear, the talk around the league is that Stern has basically decided to go back to the old ball, and has started calling teams around the league to ask them how many of the old balls they have remaining. The league office is debating whether or not to bring the old ball back sometime during the season or just wait until the beginning of next season. It's basically a question of when the new ball comes back... that's all according to what Marc Stein said Friday.
