From the Salt Lake City Tribune...The Pistons had never scored more than 100 points in the Delta Center's history. In fact, Detroit had not eclipsed 100 points since 1989, going 2-14 in that stretch.
So why does Detroit's offense usually come to a grinding halt in the Delta Center? Guard Rip Hamilton has a theory - one the Jazz have heard, and discounted, before.
The new NBA basketballs being used this season would help Detroit, Hamilton said, because the Jazz "can't use those hard balls anymore. They used to use those hard balls that would bounce off the rim."
Ever since ex-Jazz forward Scott Padgett said a few years ago that the team used to over-inflate the basketball to throw off the outside shooting of visiting teams, the theory has been discussed many times.
Hamilton is a believer, even though it was pointed out that John Stockton shot 52 percent during his 19-year career with the Jazz and Jeff Hornacek made 43 percent of his three-point shots during seven seasons in Utah.
"If you use it all the time," Hamilton said, "you get used to it."