In basketball, you’ll hear the phrase “They’re taking the air out of the ball.” It means that team is slowing the pace so as to limit the opportunities for their opponents to take advantage of some kind of mismatch. This very NBA Finals series, LeBron and the Cavaliers are slowing the pace to a near standstill due to the incredible talent gap between the two teams.
Monday, Shaquille O’Neal and Phil Jackson made news by admitting that, during their playing and/or coaching careers, they deflated the basketballs for some kind of advantage, according to an ESPN story by Baxter Holmes.