Solid D
12-30-2006, 10:05 PM
No more nerf bounces after Sunday!
(Monroe article added)
http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/columnists/mmonroe/stories/MYSA123106.10C.COL.BKNmonroe.ball.276e849.html
Web Posted: 12/30/2006 08:48 PM CST
San Antonio Express-News
Farewell, new ball. We hardly knew ye.
The microfiber composite ball the NBA introduced this season dies a quiet death today, used for the final time in seven New Year's Eve games, including today's at the AT&T Center between the Spurs and Hawks.
The leather ball returns on New Year's Day with two games scheduled. Good luck to the Celtics, the only team that is playing on both days.
The basketball-loving world rejoices.
The new ball gave us some entertaining moments, but so did The Three Stooges.
Some of the moments were pure slapstick.
The new ball got stuck between the rim and the backboard with relative regularity, including twice in the first quarter of one Spurs game.
My favorite such moment occurred during a Los Angeles Clippers' morning shootaround at the AT&T Center three weeks ago.
When a ball got stuck as half a dozen players shot, the players opted to see how long it would remain while they continued shooting. Five minutes later, one of them had to jump up and knock the ball down, because the ball refused to budge, even when nudged by other shots.
It didn't carom off the backboard as hard as the leather ball and had a tendency to die on the back rim, often to the benefit of shooters.
Mike Monroe's NBA Beat
• NBA power rankings
• Analysis: Small-market worries
• NBA Beat notebook
• Top 30 NBA Spurs: No. 15 Malik Rose
The Wizards claimed a loss to the Nets on Nov. 12 partially resulted from a "new-ball bounce." Vince Carter's long 3-pointer that sent the game to overtime hit the base of the rim, died there and fell in. The leather ball, the Wizards believed, would have bounced harmlessly out.
It produced tiny cuts on the tips of the fingers of some players, including Phoenix's Steve Nash and Dallas' Dirk Nowitzki.
It also produced some great quotes, on both sides of the issue. My favorite was this, from league VP Stu Jackson: "If it's not broken, break it and make it better."
The new ball was supposed to be more consistent.
Every new ball, we were assured, was just like every other new ball, sort of an NBA-Spalding version of cloning. Of course, not all scientific advancement is wonderful or even advancement.
The consistent characteristics of the new ball were supposed to benefit everyone.
When a ball got wet from sweat or a spilled beer or soft drink, it supposedly could be replaced and the players would not feel a difference.
Of course, players and coaches soon came to believe the new balls weren't all exactly alike. During a Spurs game at the AT&T Center, the ball twice got stuck between the rim and the backboard in the first few minutes of a game. Spurs coach Gregg Popovich requested that the referees switch balls because the one being used obviously was too sticky. His request was denied.
(The rim in question was the very same one that would not release the stuck ball during the Clippers shootaround. Hmm. Maybe it's the rim.)
The new ball wasn't better.
Its implementation was ill conceived and ham fisted. The players were not consulted, nor was the league's competition committee. The players' association ultimately sued the NBA, citing unfair labor practice charges against the league because of the implementation of the ball.
Commissioner David Stern got backed into a corner on this one. The players' union scored a clear victory, and while Stern was praised for admitting the league's error, even some of the praise was backhanded, as when Phil Jackson compared Stern's backpedaling to President Bush's admission of mistakes in Iraq.
Stern says the new ball has been sent back to the laboratory for more study, but it's not coming back in any form, not if Stern knows what's good for the game and good for his image.
R.I.P., New Ball.
And good riddance.
(Monroe article added)
http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/columnists/mmonroe/stories/MYSA123106.10C.COL.BKNmonroe.ball.276e849.html
Web Posted: 12/30/2006 08:48 PM CST
San Antonio Express-News
Farewell, new ball. We hardly knew ye.
The microfiber composite ball the NBA introduced this season dies a quiet death today, used for the final time in seven New Year's Eve games, including today's at the AT&T Center between the Spurs and Hawks.
The leather ball returns on New Year's Day with two games scheduled. Good luck to the Celtics, the only team that is playing on both days.
The basketball-loving world rejoices.
The new ball gave us some entertaining moments, but so did The Three Stooges.
Some of the moments were pure slapstick.
The new ball got stuck between the rim and the backboard with relative regularity, including twice in the first quarter of one Spurs game.
My favorite such moment occurred during a Los Angeles Clippers' morning shootaround at the AT&T Center three weeks ago.
When a ball got stuck as half a dozen players shot, the players opted to see how long it would remain while they continued shooting. Five minutes later, one of them had to jump up and knock the ball down, because the ball refused to budge, even when nudged by other shots.
It didn't carom off the backboard as hard as the leather ball and had a tendency to die on the back rim, often to the benefit of shooters.
Mike Monroe's NBA Beat
• NBA power rankings
• Analysis: Small-market worries
• NBA Beat notebook
• Top 30 NBA Spurs: No. 15 Malik Rose
The Wizards claimed a loss to the Nets on Nov. 12 partially resulted from a "new-ball bounce." Vince Carter's long 3-pointer that sent the game to overtime hit the base of the rim, died there and fell in. The leather ball, the Wizards believed, would have bounced harmlessly out.
It produced tiny cuts on the tips of the fingers of some players, including Phoenix's Steve Nash and Dallas' Dirk Nowitzki.
It also produced some great quotes, on both sides of the issue. My favorite was this, from league VP Stu Jackson: "If it's not broken, break it and make it better."
The new ball was supposed to be more consistent.
Every new ball, we were assured, was just like every other new ball, sort of an NBA-Spalding version of cloning. Of course, not all scientific advancement is wonderful or even advancement.
The consistent characteristics of the new ball were supposed to benefit everyone.
When a ball got wet from sweat or a spilled beer or soft drink, it supposedly could be replaced and the players would not feel a difference.
Of course, players and coaches soon came to believe the new balls weren't all exactly alike. During a Spurs game at the AT&T Center, the ball twice got stuck between the rim and the backboard in the first few minutes of a game. Spurs coach Gregg Popovich requested that the referees switch balls because the one being used obviously was too sticky. His request was denied.
(The rim in question was the very same one that would not release the stuck ball during the Clippers shootaround. Hmm. Maybe it's the rim.)
The new ball wasn't better.
Its implementation was ill conceived and ham fisted. The players were not consulted, nor was the league's competition committee. The players' association ultimately sued the NBA, citing unfair labor practice charges against the league because of the implementation of the ball.
Commissioner David Stern got backed into a corner on this one. The players' union scored a clear victory, and while Stern was praised for admitting the league's error, even some of the praise was backhanded, as when Phil Jackson compared Stern's backpedaling to President Bush's admission of mistakes in Iraq.
Stern says the new ball has been sent back to the laboratory for more study, but it's not coming back in any form, not if Stern knows what's good for the game and good for his image.
R.I.P., New Ball.
And good riddance.