<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">It's too slick. It's too sticky. It's spongy. It wasn't necessary. It's horrible. By now, we all know how Shaquille O'Neal, the Big Evaluator, feels. "It's the worst decision some expert, whoever did it, made... The NBA's been around how long? A hundred years? Fifty years? So to change it now, whoever that person is needs his college degree revoked. It's a terrible decision." It's all about the new ball. It's all about the new Spalding microfiber composite ball, the league's first change of basketballs in 35 years. No more leather ball with eight panels. Now, it's two interlocking panels officially described as having "moisture management that provides superior grip and feel." The ball was used in the league's last two All-Star Games, and was tested in summer leagues and in the NBA Development League. It will be used tonight when the 76ers face Winterthur FC Barcelona in an exhibition game in Palau Sant Jordi. Clearly, if nothing else, it will take some getting used to. "I've been using it all summer," the Sixers' Andre Iguodala said. "It just wears down after about 2 to 3 weeks. The ball used in the summer got old. Now, I'm back to the newer new ball and I haven't had a good experience with it so far. "I guess the only thing you can do is, the more you touch it, the better you are. I have one in my room [at the team's hotel]. I play with it every night for about an hour." It's too slick. "We're going to have to do it like baseball, change, like, every five plays," Chris Webber said. Once it gets wet, it's terrible; it's tough, put it that way." It's too spongy. "I'm not a big fan of the new ball," Willie Green said. "But it's what we've got to use. We might as well mentally prepare ourselves that this is the ball we're going to use for the season and deal with it. It's a little spongy. I'm used to the regular NBA ball. As scorer and shooter, I just like the other ball better. It went through the net better." It's more like a toy. "It feels like one of those cheap balls that you buy at the toy store, indoor-outdoor balls," said O'Neal, the Miami Heat center. It's just right? "Everyone that handles the ball loves the grip and the feel of the ball," was the predictable evaluation from Stu Jackson, league executive vice president of basketball operations. "It's a better ball. But as a product matter, composite balls are used in every league throughout the world. And they've been used in every level of play over the last 10 years domestically in the NCAA and also in high school." It just isn't right? "I certainly won't have to lick my fingers," Phoenix Suns point guard Steve Nash said. "The ball sticks to your hand. It's a big transition. It's extremely sticky. Right now, I would say that the basketball sticks to the floor, it sticks to the backboard." It's horrible. "I'm right with [Shaq]," Heat coach Pat Riley said. "I think it's horrible... It really does feel like an indoor-outdoor ball. We'll see how it works. Maybe they'll learn to love it, I don't know." It is what it is. "A lot of guys are getting used to it, let's put it that way," Sixers coach Maurice Cheeks said. "Balls kind of slip out of their hands when they get wet. We've got to change the ball a few more times, but, overall, it's like a new rule: You get a new rule, guys adjust to the rule, it's no problem... If it goes in, it's a great ball. It's cool when it's dry. "The good thing is, everybody's playing with the same ball," the Sixers' Alan Henderson said. "What can you say? There's nothing we can do about it. Maybe put a little extra rosin on our hands. When it's dry, you can get a really good grip on it." It might be a problem now... "But in 3 years," the Heat's Michael Doleac said, "we'll probably all look back and not be able to imagine playing with anything else." </div> Link
