New (old) Ball NBA

**nosuzieno** · 01-01-07, 02:33 PM

(Teams got supply of old balls around Christmas time)

It'll be up to the teams themselves, though, to determine how to find time to readjust to the old ball while finishing out this month's schedule with the new ball. This would seem to present a particular challenge for the Boston Celtics, who are the only team in the league scheduled to play on Dec. 31 and Jan. 1. It appears that the Celtics will be required to play at Seattle with the new synthetic ball on New Year's Eve and then the leather version 24 hours later in Portland.

Some teams, furthermore, will obviously play more games with leather than synthetic, and vice versa. The league's 30 clubs won't have played the same amount of games until the regular season closes on April 18.
Such issues are why Nash, for all the cuts inflicted on his hands by the new ball, urged league officials not to make an in-season switch. Nash has been saying for weeks that the "friction-y" microfiber model "tears up my fingers," but Nash also told ESPN.com last week: "It's taken me two months to adjust to this new ball, but I've made the adjustment. I'm actually OK with the new ball now."

**tennis_balls** · 01-01-07, 02:41 PM

thanks for the reminder.....probably can't hurt Boston as their shooting can't get any worse.

**nosuzieno** · 01-01-07, 02:51 PM

No Prob, for some reason I thought it was starting tomorrow but double checked

**bigboydan** · 01-02-07, 03:56 PM

Looks like thats exactly what the Celtics needed to break there losing streak.

All kidding aside guys. How much should we factor this move into our totals capping? I'm thinking we might see a few more unders cashing in this week till we see teams make the adjustment on there mechanics.

**nosuzieno** · 01-02-07, 04:48 PM

cashed easy under in bos/port game last night, but want to see what happens tonight. Maybe they score more instead of less...

**Jay Edgar** · 01-02-07, 05:04 PM

As I mentioned elsewhere, last night was mixed at best

MIN .472 for year
last night .494

CHA .432 for year
last night .520

Bos .450 for year
last night .438

POR .449 for year
last night .389

**The HG** · 01-02-07, 05:45 PM

In the end, the net effect of the new ball was very unclear. FG percentages and scoring were both up a bit in Nov/Dec, but that was at least partly due to a crackdown on contact on the officials' part, especially around the basket. It was mentioned that would be the case before the year began, and over the past two months I came across many references to "what the refs are calling now" and comments about how it's "easier to get to the basket" and things like that.

Overall, in Nov, totals were roughly 50/50, while in Dec they went slightly to the over, anywhere from 51.5%-52%, depending on what number you took as the game's line. But, that over trend is actually lower than each of the past two years, where Dec was 54%-55% to the over (Nov was slightly under last year, and 54%-55% in '04-'05).

I'd say the ball switch is not a huge deal. Kobe, Lebron, et al are excited to be back to the old ball, but I'm skeptical that it will have any positive effect on their shooting. The ball definitely affects ball-handling, but it's not clear what effect that has on totals.

I'm starting out by assuming the upshot of the ball switch will be negligible, but I will be on the look out for any unusual results.

**Dark Horse** · 01-02-07, 05:52 PM

Teams that move the ball fast may be most affected. Nash had a lot of strange turnovers early this season. Suns could take a few games to get back into the old flow. Teams that don't depend on flow should have no negative effects.

**nosuzieno** · 01-02-07, 05:56 PM

Thanks for the homework and input