{"id":1071,"date":"2006-12-13T19:35:14","date_gmt":"2006-12-14T00:35:14","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.joeduffy.net\/blog\/2006\/12\/nba-dunks-new-ball\/"},"modified":"2006-12-13T19:35:14","modified_gmt":"2006-12-14T00:35:14","slug":"nba-dunks-new-ball","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.joeduffy.net\/blog\/2006\/12\/nba-dunks-new-ball\/","title":{"rendered":"NBA Dunks New Ball"},"content":{"rendered":"

NBA Dunks New Ball<\/strong><\/p>\n

By Marty Gitlin
\nWagerWeb.com<\/a> Contributing Writer<\/p>\n

Even David Stern<\/strong> can commit a turnover.<\/p>\n

Stern displayed a rare ability for a league commissioner to reverse course at the risk of ego gratification by scrapping the unpopular microfiber composite ball for the standard leather one.<\/p>\n

When they ring in the new year, they will bring back the old ball.<\/p>\n

Despite a slight increase in scoring and decrease in turnovers with the new ball, the reaction of the players to it had been overwhelmingly negative. Stars such as Shaquille O’Neal<\/strong> and LeBron James<\/strong> criticized the preseason switch, adding that the players should have been consulted first.<\/p>\n

Stern admitted as much after the players union filed an unfair labor practice charge against the league on Dec. 1. He also heard players and coaches complain that the new ball cut their hands.<\/p>\n

The team likely most affected by the change will be Boston. The Celtics are the only NBA<\/a> team scheduled to play on both Dec. 31 and Jan. 1.<\/p>\n

“One day we’re going to play with one ball, and the next day we’re going to play with another one,” said Coach Doc Rivers<\/strong>. “It’s just like the park. That’s what it’s going to feel like. Whoever brings the ball on Jan. 1, that’s the one we’re going to play with.”<\/p>\n

Speaking of the Celtics, they are playing some strange basketball these days, but they’re not complaining. They fell behind by more than 20 points against New Jersey on Saturday before rallying to victory.<\/p>\n

And Monday night, they nearly blew a 30-point lead early in the third quarter. The Knicks closed to within three points with 1:28 remaining before the Celtics closed out the 97-90 victory.<\/p>\n

PAUL STANDS TALL:<\/strong> There’s been no sign of a sophomore slump for New Orleans\/Oklahoma City point guard Chris Paul<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

The reigning NBA Rookie of the Year performed brilliantly in nearly single-handedly defeating the Cavaliers on Monday night in Oklahoma City. He outplayed James in a surprising 95-89 victory despite the absence of teammates Peja Stojakovic<\/strong>, David West<\/strong> and Bobby Jackson<\/strong> due to injury. Paul finished with 30 points on 11-of-16 shooting, 11 assists and five rebounds. James was held to a season-low 15 points.<\/p>\n

Paul, who broke down the Cleveland defense consistently on penetration, is averaging a team-high 18.8 points a game. He is fourth in the NBA at 9.0 assists and third with 2.1 steals per game.<\/p>\n

DRIBBLES:<\/strong> Two torrid teams meet Tuesday night when the Los Angeles Lakers play at Houston. According to WagerWeb.com<\/a>, the Lakers are 2.5-point underdogs. They will play eight of their next 10 games on the road after opening the season with 15 of 20 at home. … The Pacers suspended guard Stephen Jackson<\/strong> for Tuesday night’s game in Chicago due to a heated exchange with Coach Rick Carlisle<\/strong> just before halftime during Saturday’s blowout loss in Cleveland. Key starters Al Harrington<\/strong> and Jermaine O’Neal<\/strong> were also sidelined with injuries Monday. It all added up to a 106-91 loss to the host Bulls. … Philadelphia 76ers team president Billy King<\/strong> said he won’t comment on trade talks for Allen Iverson<\/strong> until they are completed. Iverson is still with the team in name only. His locker has been cleared out. Meanwhile, the 76ers lost their eighth consecutive game Monday night, 81-79, to Portland. Andre Igoudala<\/strong> (27 points) was the lone Philadelphia starter who scored in double figures. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

NBA Dunks New Ball By Marty Gitlin WagerWeb.com Contributing Writer Even David Stern can commit a turnover. Stern displayed a rare ability for a league commissioner to reverse course at the risk of ego gratification by scrapping the unpopular microfiber composite ball for the standard leather one. When they ring in the new year, they … Continue reading NBA Dunks New Ball<\/span> →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1071","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-press_releases"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.joeduffy.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1071","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.joeduffy.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.joeduffy.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.joeduffy.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.joeduffy.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1071"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.joeduffy.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1071\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.joeduffy.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1071"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.joeduffy.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1071"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.joeduffy.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1071"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}