From the Freep:
For the first 12 minutes Tuesday night, Rasheed Wallace looked like the late-January, hard-to-excite Rasheed Wallace. For the last 36, he looked like the Wallace who could be named an All-Star.
Wallace finished with 24 points, 10 rebounds and three blocks — including a big one in the final minute — in a dominating show against the Indiana Pacers. The Pistons won it, 110-104.
“I told the staff, that’s what really pisses you off, when you see him play like that for three quarters,” coach Flip Saunders said. “Everyone knows he’s got the ability to do that night in and night out.”
He really was pretty amazing, making 10 of 18 shots, including five straight in the final 4:30 of the second quarter that brought the Pistons from down 10 to up two at the half. The Pistons had a huge advantage with Jermaine O’Neal sidelined and Wallace definitely took advantage. Like Saunders said, the trick is somehow convincing him to do this all of the time.
With Wallace dominating up front, Chauncey Billups and Rip Hamilton only combined for 28 points, but that was fine given the help Detroit (finally) received from the bench. Jarvis Hayes has emerged from his slump at least temporarily, shooting 5-6 from the field to finish with 13 points.
And while Jason Maxiell tallied only three points and two boards, Amir Johnson chipped in seven and six, respectively, including this impressive put-back. Yes, Johnson is still struggling with his fouls, getting whistled three times in almost 14 minutes, but for what it’s worth he only had one in his first 10 minutes of play, which certainly helped his cause to stay on the floor.
All in all, for a midweek game against a bottom-feeder in the division, this was actually a pretty enjoyable affair. It’s not often you see the Pistons score 110 points, let alone with such varied contributions — even Rodney Stuckey looked comfortable, staying aggressive for most of the game. And now, things will start to get a bit easier heading into the All-Star break, at least in terms of staying in one place. After playing 10 of their last 14 on the road, the Pistons are at home for five straight, starting with the Lakers on Thursday.
Pistons 110, Pacers 104 box score [NBA.com]
BallHype recaps and analysis
wow, those are pretty bold words. nice to see flip standing up to sheed though, even if it was to a reporter. That first quarter was pathetic, thank god we had the bench to stir things up, otherwise we could have been down by 30 at the half.
in all honesty though, what the hell would it take for the pistons to consistantly play inside out ball? there are just times you see sheed play that make you think he must be actively trying to under-perform the rest of the time.
It seems like Sheed shoots so much better from the outside after he makes a couple in the post.
The only thing stopping Sheed from being the MVP of this league is Sheed. As much as I love his game, his legacy is going to consist of a lot of people wondering what could’ve been. There are a lot of sad stories in basketball that consists of guys with endless amounts of talent never even seeing a minute in the NBA, like Earl Manigault. I’m happy to see Sheed have at least one championship, but I’ll quickly admit that I agree with Charles Barkley; there’s never been a seven-footer with Sheed’s skillset. To see what he’s accomplished compared to what he’s capable of, yeah, it’s frustrating, how could it not be?
Kyle: If I had to guess, I’d say Flip was probably laughing when he said it, though I have no way of knowing. But on some level you know he means exactly what he said.
Rasheed in the Portland-Laker series was the most phenomenal, unstoppable player I’ve ever seen. I hated him. And loved how he would get himself kicked out of playoff games.
laughing or not, no smart coach says something like that to a reporter without knowing it will make the papers the next day.
the pistons organization is excellent at using the media, i wonder if this is flip’s new strategy to keep sheed motivated. i can’t really see piling on another criticism to the heaps sheed has been getting lately will really help, but who knows.
I found a nice combination to see this game.
The site i got here for the streaming (it has a new address):
http://golf.cautela.nl/showthread.php?t=12680
and since i got a slow internet connection, instead of seeing the stream (which is erratic at best with my slow connection) i just used Orbit (www.orbitdownloader.com)to “borrow” and save the stream…
stealing NBA games has never been this easy
i’ve never seen sheed abuse someone in the post like he did troy murphy. at the end of the half, murphy went into the locker room early due to what i assume to be a sprained ego or pulled pride. thought the bench played top shelf last night too.
Ohad you are my bloody hero!
I had lost the means to watch games, but now I am happy.
One thing Sheed never gets credit for though is that while we all know he could the most dominant big man in the league, he has bought into a team and its system. He’s accepted the fact that he’s not always going to be our go to guy and he plays great within this system. I don’t think he gets recognized for that because people (myself included) focus on what he’s not doing. Many people that don’t follow the Pistons or don’t care for Detroit claim Sheed has a bad attitude and an ego, resulting in all the technicals. I disagree. I think that there are many players with egos that would make Sheed’s pale in comparison. Anyone that can play on this team has to be somewhat humble, at least in a professional sense. As far as a the technicals go, I just think this guy cares about winning and losing more than anyone I’ve ever seen. BTW, a lot of the calls that go against Sheed, he usually has a case for being pissed.
I’m not trying to make it sound like I worship the ground Rasheed walks on or don’t think he can do any wrong, but I will say that if Rasheed were to leave this team, we’d be up the river pretty far without any pattles in sight.
QD, that Blazers-Lakers series as pretty memorable. I live in California and still remember how much all of the Lakers fans I know (boy are there a lot of them out here) hated Sheed. They hated that guy to death and still do! Revisionist historians like to say that Shaq got the better of Sheed that series. BS! The refs and their fourth quarter foul calls got the better of Sheed. Bottomline, he was outshining Shaq during his prime in a playoff series. Thanks again QD for reminding me of that, seems like ages ago.
it’s a hard subjec to really wrap your mind around. for the most part i agree with WLM, he seems more than glad to win as a team rather than getting great stats and that is commendable.
However, seeing how dominant we tend to be when we play inside out (this game and the Spurs game), it just seems stupid that we don’t do it more often. is that sheed’s fault for not getting low and demanding the ball? chauncey and rip’s for not getting it to him? flip’s for focusing too much on the perimeter players initiating?
also, i don’t think there are a lot of centers in the game today who bring what Sheed brings, but I’m not going to pretend that he’s the only one who could fill that hole for us to be successful. i also don’t let sheed off the hook for his temper. it’s great that he’s passionate and many refs (cough cough javie cough) obviously have it in for him, but too often his passion becomes a negative at the worst times. every time he has a melt down in the playoffs he might as well be putting up a white flag.
Kyle, I agree, Sheed’s “meltdowns” don’t bring anything positive. I just hope that, come playoff time, when Sheed starts getting the short end of the officiating stick (probably the only post-season guarantee at this point), he takes all of that frustration out on Detroit’s opponents. If for one post-season he can do that, I almost know that the Palace will gets it’s fourth championship banner.
As far as someone else being able to “fill the hole” as Kyle said in Sheed’s absence, yes, I do think there are other big men that would give us enough to make us title contenders. As far as another big man with a skillset that can be compared to Sheed’s? Nope, not one comes to mind, no matter how long I think about it.
agreed, sheed is definitely a unique talent. but i don’t agree that if he left we’d be up the creek without a paddle. some said the same about ben and we didn’t skip a beat. he’s a fantastic player, but like most players, he brings positives and negatives.
and just to throw this out there to stir the pot a little. on a team dripping with shooters i’m not sure that sheed is the best fit for us. wouldn’t someone willing to bang down low for an entire game help us more?
It all depends on who we got in return for Sheed. What I mean with the up the creek remark was, imagine the Pistons as they are now with Rasheed removed for the line-up. Say for instance, he got injured (knock on wood)? I’d be willing to bet that we’d be fresh out of paddles.
As for a post guy that is willing to live in the paint for the whole game, well, there are a lot of those around the league. Question is, which one would you pick? IMO, Sheed’s “tramp ball”, interior defense, and general basketball IQ make Sheed, even at an old age, better than the rest of those guys. His ability to shoot from anywhere,along with McDyess’ 15-20 footers, give the Pistons what is essentially the most versatile starting front court in the league. Having some guy whose offense only comes in the paint would be giving us less options. Sure we have shooters, but no one else has a seven-foot shooter like Sheed. Plus, his post game is as solid as any other big man’s in the league, minus perhaps Tim Duncan’s.
Unfortunately, the question then becomes, with such a talented big man on your squad, why is the team not using him to the fullest advantage as they should be?
Your guess is as good as mine.
i’m about to leave for home so i’ll just say this, short and sweet. basketball iq doesn’t impress me. webber’s basketball iq didn’t help us in the playoffs, and sheed’s has abandoned him in crucial moments (does robert horry take last second threes?). he may not have as varied a skill set or as much experience or as high an iq, but if i had the choice to switch sheed for dwight howard just for the rest of the season. and i’m pretty sure we’d end up with a ring in the deal.
Basketball IQ doesn’t impress you? Funny, I always thought that it was the one advantage they had on all of their opponents.
last playoffs our high basketball iq got it’s ass handed to it by a bunch of kids. and that was including webber’s doctorate level “situational iq.”
again, i’m not saying sheed isn’t great. he is, and he makes the entire team better. but sheed is a jack of all trades, master of none. i think a more one-dimensional, role player like a dwight howard or young shaq, somebody who lives and breathes in the paint, might help the team more.
Well, there hasn’t been one great team that didn’t have a high level of basketball IQ. Larry Bird is a prime example of just how deadly a high basketball IQ can be.
“basketball iq doesn’t impress me” -Kyle
Could be the dumbest thing I’ll ever hear a Pistons fan say in my life.
that’s fine, but there is a reason nobody wants webber. kendrick perkins is more valuable than webber is. nobody gives a damn about his basketball iq.
webber’s basketball iq didn’t help him from becoming a black hole on offense in the ecf’s. it didn’t keep sheed on horry in the ‘05 finals. it didn’t help sheed back up his big mouth against the heat in ‘06. it didn’t help him keep his composure against the cavs. we’ve had the most collective basketball iq in the league for years and it hasn’t helped us win any more championships. a better coach and a better bench did.
besides mr. “dumbest thing ever,” if sheed’s “high basketball iq” is so damn significant than why is he the current poster child for wasted opportunity? why hasn’t he learned how to deal with refs? why does rasheed hurt our team as much as he helps us? if that is what makes for a high basketball iq, then a high basketball iq evidently means nothing.
the last two years we were dominated in the playoffs by players with less than five years nba experience (d-wade, lebron). they didn’t dominate us because they have higher basketball iq’s than we did.
HA HA! You could type on for days talking about nothing, still won’t change the fact that you wrote one of the dumbest things I’ve ever read on a basketball related website. Really dude, I’m not trying to get hostile with you. You’re right, Sheed’s emotions can negate his IQ for the game along with the rest of his abilities. I don’t remember saying a word about C-Web and his IQ, but it did help him have a pretty good career in the NBA. If I remember correctly, mental lapses, or that is, the Pistons neglecting their IQ and playing with their heads up their backsides was what got them knocked out of the playoffs by a lesser team.
Really though, you seem like a cool dude for the most part, we both love the same team, no reason to go back and forth like this. I appreciate basketball IQ, apparently you don’t. That’s cool, now let’s get on with the season. What do you think about this Mavs game coming up?
that’s the thing, i never said i didn’t appreciate it or that it’s not important. i said it didn’t impress me because i think there are other, more important things. obviously, as you stated, focus is more important.
if we regularly get beat in the playoffs by dumber teams, obviously our greater iq doesn’t mean much. does a losing team with a high iq impress you?
My bad for misinterpreting your words. No, a losing team with a high basketball IQ doesn’t impress me. Thing is, there’s usually not a lot of losing teams that fit that descriptions. There will always be exceptions, but IMO a smarter team will usually have an advantage against their opponents.