All Eyes Are on NBA’s New Ball

By: Bryon Okada, McClatchy Newspapers, (MCT)
Posted In: Sports

It might not be a whole different ballgame, but it’s definitely a whole different ball.

For the first time in 35 years, the NBA’s official game ball has a new design and is made of microfiber composite instead of leather.

Based on preliminary data gathered by two physicists at the University of Texas at Arlington, the bounce of the new basketball is considerably more erratic, and it becomes slick during play.

“Imagine Shaq (O’Neal), who’s one of the most disappointed of the players with the ball,” James Horwitz, chairman of the physics department at UT-Arlington, said of the ball’s penchant to become slick. “In his typical stance, holding the ball with one hand, he can’t grip it or hold it away from his body. It might affect someone like Tracy McGrady, who goes to the rim, or Dirk (Nowitzki). The ball might just fall out of his hand.”

The ball has been used in preseason games and will be used when the regular season begins next week.

The differences in performance, physics professor Kaushik De says, comes down to these:

_Embossing of logos and inscriptions on the synthetic ball are deeper, creating a “jitter” effect when the ball bounces. The synthetic ball’s bounce is about 30 percent more erratic than a leather ball, early data show, whether bouncing off the floor or the backboard.

_The synthetic ball does not bounce as high as conditioned leather balls. This could affect not just dribbling but bank shots, as well as the shots of players known for having a “soft touch.”

_When dry, the synthetic ball is about twice as easy to grip as a leather ball, and even small-handed people can palm it. The synthetic ball, however, does not quickly absorb moisture_sweat_and the surface becomes slick. A leather ball can absorb nearly 12 percent of its weight in sweat without the surface staying wet. Leather balls get softer and heavier, therefore, as games go on. Overall, the synthetic ball is likely to be 20 percent to 30 percent harder to grip than a leather ball at the most critical points of games.

The University of Texas-Arlington study was requested by the Dallas Mavericks and started on Oct. 14. Its preliminary results were sent to the Mavericks via e-mail Thursday and have already been posted on Mavs owner Mark Cuban’s blog at www.blogmaverick.com.

There has been no contact with either Spalding, which makes the ball, or the NBA about the preliminary findings, Horwitz said.

Both researchers emphasize that they have no opinion on the superiority of one ball over the other. They were asked only to test each ball’s properties and performance. On the other hand, it’s a safe bet that NBA fans don’t want to see the superstars fumbling the ball out of bounds more often.

“Perhaps Spalding needs to look at the design for the outer surface to make it more absorbent,” Horwitz said.

The erratic bounce _ if it really is due to the deeper embossing _ would be pretty easy to fix, researchers say.

The researchers plan to continue testing the ball for up to three weeks. More extensive experiments about how the ball reacts around the rim and backboard are scheduled.

Some NBA players, of course, have already been vocal in their support or derision for the ball.

“It’s what the big guy (NBA Commissioner David Stern) said they’re going to stick with, so it’s really a dead issue,” Mavs guard Jerry Stackhouse said Friday. “We’ve got to adjust to it. It’s all muscle memory, getting in the gym and taking 400 to 500 shots a day.”

Preliminary tests in a laboratory may not translate exactly to how the ball will perform in games, Stackhouse said.

“How are some white collars going to decide how the ball is going to be better for the game if they don’t play the game?” he said. “That’s backward for me.”

First-hand observations of guard Devin Harris, Stackhouse’s teammate, seem to confirm the early findings of the scientists.

“It’s all right when it’s dry, but it gets slippery when it’s wet,” Harris said. “It’s as simple as that.”

Cuban posted several personal conclusions on his blog, which are, in summary:

_Keep the ball. “It’s not perfect, but it would create more hassles than it solves to change,” Cuban wrote.

_Make sure NBA floors are consistent, with no “dead spots.”

_Dry the balls. Switch out wet balls.

_Keep the balls clean.

_Change the embossing and layout on the ball for next season.

The new basketballs, which are meant to be used indoors, are relatively pricey at about $100 each.

Spalding spokeswoman Lynn Luczkowski said via e-mail that all full-line sporting goods chains will carry the ball.

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c 2006, Fort Worth Star-Telegram.

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Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.

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