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Sydney Kings star import Steve Blake says the NBL ball has been partly to blame for the shooting slump that has critics questioning his move to Australia. Cheap New Orleans Saints Jerseys .The former NBA guard has struggled offensively through his first four games in the royal purple, shooting just 26 percent from the field and an even lower 18 from long range.The 36-year-old admits he hasnt been at his best so far, but he is enjoying being a part of the ladder-leading Kings resurgence as an NBL force.Its been quite a good experience in some respects and tough in others, he said.Personally my basketball hasnt been at its best. Im struggling shooting the ball but I know there was going to be an adjustment period as far as that goes.But the teams been having a lot of success which has been a lot of fun. Its been a great group of guys and great coaches. Ive enjoyed that team atmosphere and winning basketball.An NBA veteran of over 14 years across eight different franchises, including two stints at the powerhouse Los Angeles Lakers, Blake said getting used to the NBL ball was a major issue.The Australian league uses a 100 percent composite leather Wilson ball, while the American association uses a full-grain leather Spalding ball.If you could hold an NBA ball to this ball, youd be like, Wow thats a huge difference, he said.NBA balls are true leather thats a lot smoother and a bit harder, maybe feels a little bit heavier, whereas this ball is really spongy and has a really different feel.For 13 years, thats all Ive practised with; an NBA ball. Its an adjustment period, but its also me missing shots. Id love to blame everything on the ball but some of it has to do with me.Coach Andrew Gaze praised Blake for contributing on the boards and defensively, and he remained confident his big-name recruit would begin converting his shots.Hed been working out and hes in great shape but hasnt been playing in a team environment since the end of the last NBA season, Gaze said.It takes a little while to get your legs underneath you, new guys, different officiating rules, rules of the game, all those things come into play.But hes settling in and I see no problems with him. He starts making some of those shots and thats an absolute bonus for us, which he clearly has the capacity to do.The Kings continue their season with a blockbuster against Perth on Thursday night. Cheap Chicago Bears Jerseys . - NASCAR announced a 33-race schedule for the 2014 Nationwide Series with virtually no changes from this years slate. Cheap Jerseys . Brett Kulak and Jackson Houck of the Vancouver Giants were each charged with assault causing bodily harm on Aug. 18, according to the B.C. court services. http://www.usnewjerseysoutlet.com/ ;. Patrice Bergeron and Daniel Paille scored 20 seconds apart a few minutes after Stamkos was taken off the ice on a stretcher with a broken right leg, and the Bruins beat the Lightning 3-0 on Monday afternoon. The demolition job that R Ashwin did on New Zealand during the third Test, in Indore, shows that the Australian distaste for offspin bowling has now spread to become an Antipodean curse.Ashwin has already caused Australia huge problems in India - not quite as devastating as his Indore performance, but troublesome nevertheless. Coincidentally, it was in Australia that Ashwin learned a very good lesson about bowling. His first attempt was peppered with multiple variations, resulting in his line and length suffering, which, in turn, provided easy pickings for the batsmen.His second attempt was only marginally more successful in the scorebook but the execution was a big improvement. He concentrated on spinning his offbreak and relied more on subtle variations of pace rather than trying to turn the ball both ways. This provided more control and the batsmen were made to work harder for their runs.That led to a much better performance against Australia when they toured India in 2012-13. Ashwin became a more confident bowler, exuding an aura that all good spinners possess. And as a solid middle-order run getter, he was on course to becoming a regular match-winner for India.The trouble that Ashwin caused Australia in India was reminiscent of the mayhem that a number of other talented offspinners achieved.My first memory of Australian ineptitude against offspin was a vivid one: Jim Laker taking 19 wickets in the 1956 Old Trafford Test. I was verging on teenager status and was devastated to see a picture of my idol, Keith Miller, tumbling head first out of his crease as he was beaten in flight by Laker.Before collecting all ten wickets in the second innings of the match, Laker had already achieved that rare distinction in Australias tour match against Surrey. Such was the turmoil in the Australian camp that when skipper and offspinner Ian Johnson attempted to rally his troops with an anything he can do, I can do speech, his vice-captain, Miller, is reported to hhave raised his gaze from a form guide and responded: Six to four you cant. Cheap Pittsburgh Steelers Jerseys. Another offspinner to weave a spell over Australian batsmen was the Indian magician Erapalli Prasanna. In 1967-68 he took 25 wickets in only four Tests in Australia, and then bettered it by one (in five Tests) in the return series, in 1969-70. His performance in Australia has to be one of the outstanding achievements by a fingerspinner in a country renowned for pitches that are much more responsive to wristspinners.Then there was Harbhajan Singhs tornado-like destruction in the 2000-01 series in India. Just when it appeared that Australia would win their first series in India since the 1969-70 tour and complete their 17th successive Test victory, Harbhajan struck. With six second-innings wickets in Kolkata, he turned what looked to be an Australian cruise to victory into a head-on crash. He turned in a similarly destructive performance in Chennai, and finished the three Test series with an incredible 32 wickets. No wonder the crowds began chanting Singh is king.Ashwin has already inflicted much pain on Australia, as did Laker, Prasanna and Harbhajan before him. Ashwins dominant performance in the series against New Zealand will send chills through Steven Smiths squad.Ashwins 27 wickets at 17.77 and Man-of-the-Series award against New Zealand could be viewed as a prelude to the main performance. In a few months time he will face an Australian line-up traumatised by the portly left-arm Sri Lankan fingerspinner Rangana Herath.Ashwins spin bowling partner, left-armer Ravindra Jadeja, will be buoyed by Heraths success. Not only does this not augur well for Australias batsmen, with their distaste for spin bowling, it will also revive memories of 1956 and the destruction caused by Laker and his partner - the left-arm orthodox spinner Tony Lock. 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