New NBA Ball - 1 Week Later
The new NBA ball has sparked hatred from many high profile players. "It's not a good basketball," the Cleveland Cavaliers' superstar forward said. "It kind of feels like a basketball you buy for your kids at Christmas or something."
When James first began practicing with the Spalding ball in training camp, he said there would be an adjustment period for players. He didn't envision it as being any kind of problem for the world's best hoopsters.
But after the season's first week, and following harsh criticism by Shaquille O'Neal, Dwyane Wade, Steve Nash and others, James, too, says the ball isn't up to standards.
"Sometimes it feels good, sometimes it doesn't," James said before Tuesday's game against the Atlanta Hawks. "It's got no consistency."
"You can shorten our shorts, tell us how to wear wristbands, things like that. Change the dress code. But the one thing we care about is the basketball," he said. "When you start changing the thing we play with every single day, it doesn't make sense to me -- at all."
The other big change is that players aren't allowed to show emotion, which has lead to a increase in technical fouls. This rule was aimed at players like Detroit Piston forward Rasheed Wallace, and in the 1st game, he received two technical fouls and was ejected.
James is also getting used to the NBA's new emphasis on stopping players and coaches from whining about calls. Referees aren't taking any lip, and if they hear or see too much, they're coming down hard.
"Technicals are being thrown like Peyton Manning passes," James said. "You have to watch you say and me being an emotional player, I've always been passionate about the game. So I've got to be cool."
To be frank, both of these changes are horrible, especially for the first few season after the changes. Eventually life goes on and players will get adjusted, commissioner Stern has said that the new ball "Is here to stay."
