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Wow... a ball that Terry can't palm and carry."They stink," guard Jason Terry said of the new ball. "I've worked out with it all summer long, and I've grown accustomed to losing the ball out of bounds a couple times. It's going to happen."
http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcont...e.292821a.html
Ever-growing list of players still trying to get a grip on switch
01:31 AM CDT on Thursday, October 5, 2006
By EDDIE SEFKO / The Dallas Morning News
DENTON – As far as the Mavericks are concerned, the NBA can take its new ball and go home.
The league decided to change official basketballs this season, replacing the pebbled, leather spheres with a microfiber composite ball that is getting widely ripped.
"They stink," guard Jason Terry said of the new ball. "I've worked out with it all summer long, and I've grown accustomed to losing the ball out of bounds a couple times. It's going to happen."
The ball has the look and feel of an indoor-outdoor ball, Terry said. And he's not the only one who has had trouble holding onto it.
"Dirk [Nowitzki] had two or three layups [in practice] and they just popped right out of his hands," Terry said.
Nowitzki, one of the NBA's biggest stars, gave a succinct impression of the new ball: a thumb's-down signal.
The Mavericks are falling in line with just about every other player in the league. Shaquille O'Neal blasted the ball even before he'd played with it, although it's the same game ball used in the last two All-Star Games, league officials said.
While the dimensions of the ball are the same as the previous ball, which had been used for more than 35 years, it simply looks and feels different.
"It's like a volleyball," coach Avery Johnson said. "It feels smaller than the other ball. But I personally don't complain about that stuff. It's just different. We been using another ball for 100 years, and it's change. And you got to adjust to change."
The league announced their would be new official game ball during the off-season. It was only the second change in the ball in 60 seasons. The ball has a special traction design that is supposed to offer superior grip and feel. But it seems to be more of a synthetic feel than anything else, according to players.
About the only positive players could find with the new ball is that it doesn't need a break-in period like the leather balls. Of course, that means the new ball always feels new, which isn't necessarily a good thing, either.
"Once the ball gets wet, it's going to go everywhere," guard Devin Harris said. "People going up for layups are having the ball slip out. I think there's going to be more turnovers and lower shooting percentages."
Harris said the ball is particularly unruly when it gets moisture on it.
"If they can keep the ball from getting wet, moving balls in and out, so it can stay dry, that might work," he said. "I don't see it getting any better."
Like it or not, the players will have to live with it. The NBA has no intentions of going back to leather.
And at least one Maverick thinks the new ball is an improvement.
"I got no problem with it," Josh Howard said. "A ball's a ball. Once you get in the groove, it still goes in. And I got smaller hands, and this one is easier for me to palm."
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Wow... a ball that Terry can't palm and carry."They stink," guard Jason Terry said of the new ball. "I've worked out with it all summer long, and I've grown accustomed to losing the ball out of bounds a couple times. It's going to happen."
The Spurs should pipe in the theme song from The Benny Hill Show whenever Terry's bringing the ball up court.
Now, when the Spurs play the Mavs on opening night, here are two new strategies. The Pop squirting flower and the Bruce Bowen squirting ring. Any time the Mavs have the ball on a key possession....you do the math.
And his replays should actually be at twice the normal speed!
How long before Cuban sends in a videotape from a practice session of the Mavs that shows them having difficulty with the new ball?
He probably already did....
Man what a time for the nba to change balls. Right when the mavs become the favorites. This is bs.
Please tell me this is a joke.
I certainly hope so.Please tell me this is a joke
Usually I get mad when people bring up that there is no such thing as HCA when people play on fields not made of the same material as the ones they are used to (i.e. Colts playing the Pats in the POs... that is SO not fair)
HOWEVER... BOTH TEAMS WILL IN FACT BE PLAYING WITH THE EXACT SAME BALLS... and these balls are ABSOLUTELY STANDARDIZED!
This is a good thing... and all will be balanced out...
The season hasn't even started and Mavs are already complaining.
Idiots, there was no reason to change the ball...
If it ain't broke....
If it ain't broke, don't fix it.
The new ball allows inferior teams to have a better chance of winning based on turnovers and great shooters losing thier touch (Dirk). Stern.
Dammit. Why can't Wade hate the new ball? Then the NBA would definately go back to the they was already using.
??? Everyone has to play with it. It may cause more turnovers by teams, but "inferior" teams are going to have to contend with the same problem and commit more turnovers as well.
And most of the complaints I've seen have been that it makes ball control and layups more difficult than it impacts jumpshots. If anything this new ball will make life tougher for guys like Tony Parker and Wade than it will on shooters.
I'm in agreement that it's stupid to introduce a new ball and by all accounts it will probably lead to ugly b-ball with more turnovers, but it's not going to throw the balance of the NBA. ty teams will still be ty, great teams will still be great-they'll just be ty or great while playing with a different ball.
Who would have ever guessed the Mavericks would be complaining to the NBA about something?
Shaq didn't complain and about it either.
Don't make this out to be a mavericks whine-fest. Shaq, maverick players, and many others have all said they hate the new ball.
yeah, but we only have the mavs as a team (outside of terry) being mentioned in an article disliking it. shaq publicly stated he hates it, wade did say he wasn't crazy about it, but it is something he's going to have to learn to deal with. it may well be the quotes were taken out of context, but that's how the hometown paper presented it.
mavs whining already
It's not just Shaq and the Mavs. Check this thread:
http://spurstalk.com/forums/showthre...hlight=cassell
There's a couple of articles posted in there. Among the new balls detractors are James Worthy, Luke Walton, Corey Magette and Steve Nash.
sheed says he doesn't like it either, but several mavs spoke up at the same time about it. if this article was about the spurs the mavs fans would be cracking wise twice as much as the few spur fans laughing.
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