NBA gets new ball.
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The NBA is introducing a new Official Game Ball for play beginning in the 2006-07 season. The new ball, manufactured by Spalding, features a new design and a new material that together offer better grip, feel, and consistency than the current leather ball. This marks the first change to the ball in over 35 years.
The new ball features Spalding’s Cross Traxxion™ technology, a union of revolutionary design and breakthrough material. The design is comprised of two interlocking, cross-shaped panels rather than the eight oblong panels found on traditional basketballs. As a result, there is more material coverage. The material is a microfiber composite with moisture management that provides superior grip and feel throughout the course of a game.
Additionally, the new composite material eliminates the need for a break-in period, which is necessary for the current leather ball, and achieves consistency from ball to ball.
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leather better...
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nice!
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Shaq hates new ball
MIAMI -- Heat center Shaquille O'Neal is no fan of the new basketballs to be used by the NBA this season, and isn't afraid to say so.
"I think the new ball is terrible," O'Neal said Monday. "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."
"Feels like one of those cheap balls that you buy at the toy store, indoor-outdoor balls," O'Neal said. "I look for shooting percentages to be way down and turnovers to be way up, because when the ball gets wet you can't really control it. Whoever did that needs to be fired. It was terrible, a terrible decision. Awful. I might get fined for saying that, but so what?"
here's the video of the interview for those interested.
http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=2610976 -
anyway, shaq is lousy at the line... and so all the more to blame now on the ball for his poor line shots.
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my own experience i shoot better using my own ball. so it may be a case some players can't get used to the new ball yet.
new ball looks like rubber ball. -
count the number of times Shaq said "terrible" in the video.
