<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">Dwight Howard and Jameer Nelson are the best of friends, but they came down on opposite sides of the debate about which ball the NBA should use this season. Howard preferred the sticky synthetic model used in November and December, while Nelson lauded the switch back to the leather model on Jan. 1. The switch clearly has affected both players. Howard's free-throw percentage has fallen off dramatically since the switch, dropping from 66.7 percent in November and December to 53 percent in January. His shooting percentage has fallen only slightly, from 56.8 percent to 55.2 percent. Nelson's overall shooting percentage has fallen from 47.3 percent to 43.4 percent in January, but he has shown marked improvements in 3-point shooting (from 31.6 percent to 43.2 percent) and free-throw shooting (75.3 percent to 83.3 percent). Nelson is averaging 15.2 points a game with the old, leather ball, compared to just 12.7 points per game with the synthetic model. As for Howard, he clearly has been an indicator to what kind of night the Magic will have. He is averaging 18.3 points, 14 rebounds and 2.0 blocks in the Magic's 23 wins, but just 15.5 points, 10.8 rebounds and 1.7 blocks in their 20 losses. Said Hill: "I wouldn't call (Howard's struggles at the free-throw line) a slump because he's never been a good free-throw shooter. He's working hard at it and trying to get better. That's an area he really has to work on."</div> Source
