i just dont understand how you can use a ball that hasnt been tested properly...next thing you know we will hear that the ball causes cancer.
If that's so, then my solution wouldn't work. Go back to the old leather ball or back to the drawing board.
I agree that they don't actually revert to the old ball, Stern has too much of an ego to admit he was wrong. But I don't agree with changing the rules. Don't forget that if a player requests a new ball during the game, the other team has to agree as well. If my team is winning and the other team is "struggling" with the ball, I wouldn't let them change it. I remember this happening a couple times before. The problem isn't only when it is wet though, so switching it out wouldn't solve all the problems.
Steve Kerr is an idiot. He said they switched the ball partly because the original wasn't selling. THE NEW BALL IS MORE EXPENSIVE!! unless you have coupons or discounts I haven't found anywhere for less than 99 bucks.
holy **** they raised the price!! ridiculous. This makes Steve Kerr's comments even more ridiculous. 129.98. They must have caught onto the 25% off coupon plus 10 off 30 google trick from last week that brought it down to 65 bucks. Still expensive though. http://www.sportsauthority.com/prod...asketball&kw=nba+basketball&parentPage=search
I guess the best thing to do is wait for the 30% off footlocker http://www.footlocker.com/catalog/p...upercat--home/model_nbr--71339/sku--74-20065/
Well... the cows were already hamburger.... making basketballs out of what is left ain't so bad. Better than making them out of synthetic material that will go in a landfill for the next million years.
Well, the price isn't the only thing that goes into the strength of sales. With all the flap the players are making about the ball, I doubt it is selling all that well. But, imagine a different world where NBA players didn't complain about the switch or even said it was better. There would be plenty of people who'd want to buy it to have the authentic article, use what the pros use and so on. The high price would even contribute to the cachet, on the idea that it must be very high quality if it costs so much. Of course, sales will still be depressed by the fact that people can't afford the ball, but it'd probably build some desire at least, if the whole thing hadn't become a fiasco. From the standpoint of selling basketballs, Spalding might be best served by recalling this ball, since its credibility is completely shot now. They'd go back to R&D and develop a "better" ball, the NBA would put the thumbscrews on the players to say the new ball was better than before and better than leather, then they release version 2 to much fanfare and sell them at $150 a pop.
BiGGieStuFF, The reason leather doesn't sell as well as an Offical NBA Ball should sell (vs other sports) is because it really can only be used indoors. Dribbling on concrete scratches up that leather within minutes. And if there are puddles on that court, bad news. btw: it has always amazed me how often good condition leather balls get spurned in even indoor pickup games. They are often considered too slick. The average joe seems to want the sticky composite balls.
And you are right. I'm an average joe PG and I love the composite leather balls the best. They feel the best on outdoor courts. They also work indoors. The leather ball gets too slippery sometimes indoors but that's usually your own sweat on your hands then sweat on the ball. The new ball feels terrible. Shaq was dead on. I didn't use it that long so i didn't get cut or whatever but it sure felt like a cheap street ball.
Check this out. The change may be imminent. http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/dailydime?page=dailydime-061209-10&lpos=spotlight&lid=tab1pos2
This shows Stern has almost zero feel for the game. Basketball is just a product to him. I doubt he would miss a heartbeat if he was suddenly selling bottled water.
Apparently its a done deal... http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=2694335 By Marc Stein ESPN.com NBA commissioner David Stern, in a stunning reversal, has decided to shelve the new microfiber composite basketball after just a few months of use and switch back to the old leather model for all games starting Jan. 1, ESPN.com has learned. The decision will be formally announced by the league later this week, according to sources close to the situation. Despite an avalanche of player complaints about the new synthetic model from the first day of training camp in October, skepticism was high among players that Stern would consent to a change during the season. But with a number of prominent players complaining of cuts on their hands caused by the new ball's high-friction cover --Phoenix's Steve Nash and New Jersey's Jason Kidd among them -- Stern was forced to concede that an in-season swap was unavoidable with the new ball inflicting injuries. Marc Stein is the senior NBA writer for ESPN.com.
I believe scoring is up this season compared to last season. Since we hold teams to the lowest ppg and fg % ...Im not sure if switching back to old ball is a good thing for us but TMac's FT% should be better I hope with the leather ball.
Stern is smart. Give in on the basketball situation so the technical foul issue takes a back seat. Good job Stern.
