Break it in

In the news, the NBA started the New Year with leather balls, replacing synthetic balls introduced just two months ago at the beginning of the 2006-07 season.

Among complaints from players are that the synthetic balls don't bounce consistently, have a poorer feel, are slippery after it gets wet with sweat. In short, the synthetic ball is not as good as the old leather ball that the NBA had been using for 35 years. In this column we want to address just one tiny aspect of the issue - the newly introduced leather balls need some breaking in, just as the synthetic balls needed some breaking in two months before.

Breaking in?

Yes, that's exactly what was troubling SJ, who asked:

"In the article (Getting a grip on change, January 2, 2007, Houston Chronicle) about the Houston Rockets getting prepared for the change back to the leather balls, I read this: 'With a new shipment of leather basketballs in immediate need of breaking in before today's first practice and Wednesday's game against the SuperSonics - the Rockets' first since the move from microfiber to leather - the Rockets, like other teams, have rushed to get the balls in game shape.'

"I guess 'breaking in' means 'wear and tear'. Am I right?"

Nice work, SJ. He continued:

"In the next paragraph, Rockets player Shane Battier said: 'I told them to get out there, invite six of their friends and have some pickup games with those new balls. There will be a period we have to break them in; you will hear a couple gripes from players. Once they get broken in, it will be just like the old days.'

"I guess 'to break them in' means to use them to get familiar with them. Am I right?"

Good guesswork, SJ. Count yourself correct on both accounts.

To break something in is a colloquialism meaning for someone to get used to something new by, well, just using it.

New shoes, for example, tend to need some breaking in. That's why when you try on a pair of shoes at a department store, you wriggle, shift and turn, walk, move sideways and even run a bit in order to get the right feel to it. If the shoes feel less than comfortable, the salesperson will likely say: "New shoes are like that. They are tight and stiff. You need to wear them for a few days to break them in. Then you'll be fine."

In a few days, if the shoes turned out to be unfit, the salesperson would not mind either because the payments would have been made. But, kidding aside, the salesperson is not telling untruths. You do need to wear them awhile to get a perfect feel.

So it is with new basketballs. People who play the game know that the sparkling new ball tends not to feel the best. Instead, one that has been bounced around and played a bit feels finest.

That's why NBA players are either breaking the new balls in by playing with them or having them broken in - by asking other people to play with them first.

Luke Walton, of the Los Angeles Lakers, even took one home with him. He said (January 3, 2007, latimes.com): "I want to play with it around the house and get used to it."