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I think the biggest difference I have discovered about him since his arrival in Detroit is his defense.
How much has his game changed?
Why was he a villain then, and now he's a stud?
Media sickens me. I loved his game then too, because he always played Duncan tough. But people always ed..."he gets too many t's" or "he doesn't want the ball in his hands in te clutch". The technicals complaint is legit, but what ever happened to the other complaint? You don't hear about it anymore.
The guy does what he does. Great Defense. Yells at refs. Acts goofy. NOW he's a stud? Get the out of here.
I think the biggest difference I have discovered about him since his arrival in Detroit is his defense.
Not much difference at all, at least with respect to his game, other than adding more range on his jumper, and shooting more 3-point jumpers.
The difference in his at ude is WINNING. It changed everything. Being on a successful team will make a brash loudmouth into a classic local hero. As soon as the behavior hurts the team, fans and media alike will get down on a player. However, helping a team win a championship offers a lot of leniency for a long time.
I think Rasheed is also older and wiser. He probably doesn't smoke pot anymore ... or at least as much. His home life and family is likely more stable if not very strong. In Detroit, he doesn't have the poor relationship with the local media that he had in Portland, so he is not portrayed as surly and unaccomodating.
And, again, his team is winning. Winning does a lot for a professional athlete.
Any Spurs fan will tell you Wallace was every bit the defensive monster he is on Detroit in the days when he was on Portland. Even in '99 when Duncan was coming off a series vs Shaq where he was dropping 33 a game, Wallace singlehandedly forced the Spurs to use David Robinson as option #1 on offense throughout the WCF.
Hard to say how much is change in his game v. change in his team, but as for "why", he went from villain to stud real quick when he
a) kicked an already-elite defense up to a historic level, and
b) won a le.
IMHO.
I wasn't making a comment on his game, just my perception of him.
Wasn't Brian Grant mostly guarding Tim?
There was a time when 'sheed was mentioned in the same breath as the other stud 4s in the western conference. He, Webber, Duncan and Garnett were all interchangable and awesome. He then started getting T's, smoking out with Damon, getting arrested, saying he didn't want to be a goto guy and just plain acting creepy. I really thought LB was the reason he got his act together in Detroit, as 'sheed was a reclamation project that was not by any means without risk. We'll see how much control the team has over him if things go less than excellently at any point.
The Pistons were 16-13 when they picked him up in '03-'04, 20 games later they were 33-16 and went on to win the NBA le. In '04-'05 Det again makes it to the Finals. In '05-'06 after 60 game the Piston's have the leagues best record.
None of this happens withoult Rasheed so yeah, he's a stud. (and so are 3 other Pistons)
The Pistons were not 16-13 when they picked up Rasheed Wallace in 2003-04.
The Pistons were 34-23 ... 34-24 if you don't count the first game he played against Minnesota since he was not allowed to play in the second half due to mishandled paperwork.
The Pistons ended the season at 54-28.
So, after acquiring Rasheed Wallace, the Pistons ended that 2003-04 season 20-5, and won the le.
^ I hate you. Worthless individual that you are. Go play Halo on your console, kiddie.
Sheed's always had way more talent, HoF level, than he has brains, maturity, or work ethic.
Just another tattooed balla (somewhat) wasting his enormous talent.
It's not to his credit that he hasn't screwed himself again in Detroit.
There are 100s of players who would be on their best behavior in the same situation.
I think he knows what fantastic situation he's in.
"I'm with stupid."
I would agree to a certain extent. However, you do have to consider the type of guy Rasheed is to understand why his career does not necessarily mean he's wasted his talent. He does have HOF level talent and skill. But, he's never endeavored to be a HOF type player. He's generally been a team-first player, at least on the court. Technical fouls aside, Rasheed wants to play basketball with unselfishness and in order to win. Some critics have painted him as a go-to type player who didn't want to be a go-to guy. That's a fair criticism. It's also what defines him. He is more than content being one of the pieces to the puzzle without being the center of attraction. Detroit has been an extremely good situation for his personailty.
I would also agree to a certain extent that his maturity and work ethic should be called into question, but not his brains. His immaturity in Portland was directly related to his youth and temperment. He would often act out of emotion. And, while as you say he has always had the talent, he did notwork his tail off during the season and in the off-season to become a better player. And, who knows what he could have become had he done so.
But, as to his brains, Rasheed is far from stupid, in my opinion. I think he knows exactly what he's doing almost all of the time. And, I think he knows when he's doing something stupid on and off the court. I think he knew it was wrong to smoke marijuana, but that's what some young kids (16-24) do at that age. I think he knows he was wrong when he chased an official out on the loading dock of the Rose Garden. I think he knows he's hurting his team sometimes when he picks up technical fouls. But, his emotions get the best of him, and he can't stop sometimes. To me, that's more the inability to control his emotions that it is him being stupid. But, that's just my opinion.
I don't think he's wasting his talent. And, I think he's exactly where he wants to be at this point in his career.
I agree on most of that.
Sheed smoked pot? Or should I say...he got caught? I thought that was more of a Damon Stoudamire type thing.
Yep.
Him and Shaq are probably two guys that can play Timmy one-on-one and give him fits. Well, Shaq of the past when he dominated.
That's my point.
It's sad that he is the same player pretty much...the media has smelly buttholes.
We know. No one is stating or even indicating that Rasheed should be in the hall of fame.
The Blazers actually played more of a team defense on Tim.
It would be Augmon, Pippen, Grant, Sheed...all using there length on him.
Rasheed Wallace is not an elite defender
He's an above average athletic big body who is in a defense with other above average athletic big bodies that are all skilled in the "team defense" scheme
therefore
his defense appears better now than it was in Portland.
Just like Rasho's defense appears better now than when he was in Minny.
Wallace is not that good. Any powerforward that takes that many three's and jumpers is doomed to failure (see rasheeds jumpers in game 7------------------------------(wait for it)--------------------------------(it's coming)--------------------------------------------------------================================================== ===========================================>>>>>>0wnt.
Alot of players don't want to be a go-to guy.
In fact, very few players want the ball in there hands in the clutch. The fact that he actually said it and was honest about it shouldnt' be a reason to villainise him.
LB didn't do anything, other than say "I believe in him. He's a good kid". But it was the same Sheed. He calmed down a little on the T's, but his game was almost the exact same. He'd shoot 3's, he'd post up...and Billups took most of the clutch shots.
Thanks, dawg.
Lmao.
Sheed is not an elite defender? Lmao.
But for humor's sake, who do you consider an "elite" defender then?
Hence his team winning the 2004 NBA le.
Hence his team having back-to-back NBA finals appearance in 2005.
Hence his team having the best record in the 2005-06 season 60 games into the season.
Hence his all star selection by NBA coaches in 2006.
Absolutely DOOMED for failure ...
You don't have to wait for it ... disownt.
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