We were told Tuesday afternoon that Rasheed Wallace was feeling ill and probably wouldn’t start against the Grizzlies. Curiously, though, Wallace was still able to play 30 minutes.
Might there have been another reason that Wallace sat to begin the game? Maybe, maybe not, but this note from Dana Garuder of the Oakland Press kind of leaves things open for interpretation.
Just when you thought all was well with Rasheed Wallace, he misses the bus to the team’s shootaround in Memphis this morning. Supposedly, Wallace is feeling ill and stayed in his hotel room.
Coach Flip Saunders says he’ll start Jason Maxiell in place of Wallace. The Grizzlies have two 7-footers starting — Pau Gasol and ex-Piston Darko Milicic — so Wallace’s absence from the lineup could lead to a slow start.
Not to pick nits, but the word choice of “misses the bus” and “supposedly” suggests there might be more to the story, no? I suspect only a handful of people know for sure. I doubt it really matters either way, but it’s interesting, nonetheless.
Chauncey Billups has his own explanation. From A. Sherrod Blakely:
“Darko-itis,” said Billups, who was referring to ex-Piston and current Grizzlies center, Darko Milicic. “That’s all it is, Darko-itis.”
From Chauncey’s comment lets all just assume that Sheed spent last night going out and getting trashed with his old teammate Darko. Darko’s still young and can recover faster so he scored 12 of his team’s first 17 and Sheed is older so he missed his bus. Darko-itis
Haha! Quote of the year from Billups.
37-22 first quarter… so much for that slow start. It seems like Maxiell energizes the Pistons whenever he’s on the court… not just off the bench.
That Billups quote is solid material. +1 to you Chauncey.
Why Jason Maxiell Shaved His Head
Jason Maxiell may eat babies but he has a really big heart and is slowly becoming a real role model. I found this on http://pistonsnationblog.com/
Compassion over fashion. Jason Maxiell didn’t shave his head to make himself anymore intimidating. The OH-BEAST! one decided to cut his hair shortly after learning that a close family member was beginning chemotherapy. “It’s something that I have no idea what they’re going through,” Maxiell said. “So I did this to show them my support.”