Chris Paul already has a handle on the slick-surfaced, extra-bouncy, two-tone basketball he'll use in the world championships next month.

"It looks different and it feels a little different, but I don't really have a problem with it," the Hornets guard says, holding the Japanese-made, orange-and-tan ball in his left hand after practice with the U.S. national team. "There's a lot of different things about this tournament."

Indeed. Elsewhere on UNLV's practice courts on Saturday, Elton Brand was getting reacquainted with the international game's trapezoidal key during a scrimmage officiated by FIBA referees, while Carmelo Anthony waited for the chance to steal an opponent's rebound off the rim, something that's illegal in the NBA.