Players welcome back old ball with reservations

Denver Nuggets' scoring machine Carmelo Anthony is delighted the NBA has decided to scrap its experiment with a new basketball but, like many players and coaches, he has some concerns about the timing.

"The new ball is, well, challenging," Anthony, the NBA's leading scorer, said flashing a wide grin.

"It was like a furball. It's real, real light. So when you think the shot is good, you might shoot an airball. You have to adjust every time you shoot."

NBA Commissioner David Stern realised he double-dribbled by introducing a new composite ball this season and nearly three weeks ago announced the league would revert to its longstanding leather basketball as from today.

The move drew near-unanimous applause from the players. Returning to the leather ball in mid-season may not be easy, however.

"It's going to be tough," Anthony told Reuters in a locker room interview. "People fail to realise, we have to adjust back to the old ball. But at this point, we got what we wanted, so we'll have to roll with it."

Anthony, who has a 31.6 average, will have more time to adjust than most while he sits out the remainder of his 15-game suspension for fighting. He returns to the court on January 22.

Memphis Grizzlies All-Star forward Pau Gasol, the MVP of the World Championship, is not comfortable with the timing of the switch.

"If a mistake has already been made, you've got to go through the whole year," the Spaniard said.

"It's just hard to switch back to the old ball. I just find it a little shaky.

"But the decision has been made and we have to accept it."

Pat Riley, coach of NBA champions Miami Heat, also has reservations about the mid-season change. But Riley, who played nine seasons in the NBA, said it would not affect the standings.

"Everybody's doing the same thing, so nobody gets an edge," he said. "If they forced one to do it, that would be different."

When Stern announced on December 11 that the NBA was bouncing its well hyped microfibre composite ball, the commissioner acknowledged he was bowing to the players' complaints.

"Our players' response to this particular composite ball has been consistently negative and we are acting accordingly," he said.

"Although testing performed by (ball maker) Spalding and the NBA demonstrated that the new composite basketball was more consistent than leather and statistically there has been an improvement in shooting, scoring, and ball-related turnovers, the most important statistic is the view of our players."

The players hated the new ball and how. Twice MVP Steve Nash, of the Phoenix Suns, said it gave him friction burns. New Jersey Nets' Jason Kidd complained it gave him something akin to paper cuts.

And outspoken Heat centre Shaquille O'Neal compared it to the "cheap balls that you buy at the toy store."

Washington Wizards guard Gilbert Arenas, averaging nearly 31 points a game and arguably the league's best player in December, welcomes the switch back, but concedes the composite ball had its advantages.

"The new ball is a shooters' ball, like the stuff that rolls in - it's not going to do that with the old ball," he said.

"But I don't want anybody to have a question mark on my scoring ability with the new ball compared to the old one.

"Records have been broken with the old ball. Give me the old ball."