|
|
|
|
Shaquille
O'Neal: "When you are 60, hang out with 60-year-olds, not 20-year-olds.
That is all I got to say about Jerry Buss."
|
|
|
|
HoopsHype.com Articles Lack
of pub doesn't equal new beginning
The Portland Trail Blazers have had an interesting season so far, starting out sluggishly for new coach Maurice Cheeks before going on a tear recently to gain some momentum for the stretch run. And while the supporting cast has performed fairly well, this is a team that understands the importance of its star player. As Rasheed goes, so go the Blazers. In the past, that often meant uncertainty, as Wallace seemed to get himself thrown out of games at all the wrong times, costing his team Ws as well as unity. It seemed he just couldn’t keep his mouth shut, and former coach Mike Dunleavy was unable to control Wallace’s emotions (just ask Arvydas Sabonis). Last year, Wallace’s fuse was shorter than ever, earning him more technical fouls than anyone had ever amassed in one season. But the fact that Wallace isn’t quite on his own record pace this year doesn’t mean he’s mellowed out. In fact, Kerry Eggers, who covers the Blazers for the Portland Tribune, says, “More than Rasheed changing his attitude, it seems the officials are reluctant to call Ts this year.” That’s right, you read it correctly: The more things change, the more they stay the same. Cliché? Yes. Truth? Certainly. If anything, the refs are lenient with Wallace, allowing him some leeway as one of the league’s star players. He can still mouth off to the refs with the best of ’em, but he just doesn’t get the Ts he so often deserves. That’s actually saying a lot, as Wallace leads the league in techs with 20 (incidentally, Wallace’s teammate, Bonzi Wells, is second in the NBA with 15). That’s not to say Wallace isn’t having a fine season. He wasn’t close to making the All-Star game, but that may have been more a result of the all-around strength of his position than of his lack of production. Just the opposite, in fact. He’s scoring a career-best 19.5 points per game and averaging 8.3 boards. One area he has seemingly declined in has been his shooting percentage, but he’s also hoisting a lot more shots, particularly from outside, this year. Eggers says, “Maurice lets him play. If Rasheed wants to shoot threes, he does it. He’s getting pretty good at it, but that has brought down his shooting percentage. “On December
15th, he shot 15-for-26, and his teammates said, ‘He needs to shoot
more like that.’ Prior to this season, Wallace was a career .518 shooter. This season, he’s at .469. That being said, however, he’s scoring more than ever before thanks to his three-pointers and extra shots. The Blazers are seemingly a happy team right now, and it couldn’t have come at a better time. After struggling out of the gates, the team feasted on an easy slate of opponents in January. That got the club’s confidence up, and now it seems comfortable taking on all comers. But the question remains: When will Rasheed blow up next? Steve Brandon, long-time Blazers’ beat writer for The Oregonian, says, “I’ve always felt the officials have been fairly lenient with him. He appears to be happier playing for Cheeks than he was for Dunleavy, but will (Cheeks) be able to keep his interest?” These are vital questions that we may never be able to answer. Dunleavy tried, and failed, to put the reigns on Wallace’s temper. We know where that got him: looking for a job. Cheeks is content to let Wallace do whatever he wants, meaning if he needs to yell at the refs at an inopportune moment, so be it. Maybe Cheeks is counting on Wallace’s maturity, figuring ’Sheed knows now that he has to be extra careful once he receives his first tech. After all, the second one is the one that really matters… Regardless, Wallace is 24th in the league in scoring average and 21st in rebounding, meaning he’s having a solid season. And he has only been kicked out of one game, which by his standards is a pittance. If he can keep a low profile and just focus on the game, he could lead his team to a nice postseason showing. But the one category Rasheed ranks number one in is the same one he has led for the past few seasons, and it’s certainly not one to be proud of. Stephen Siegel is a freelance sports writer for local Portland publications and a regular contributor to HoopsHype.com Tell us what you think about this article. E-mail us at HoopsHype@HoopsHype.com _____________________ |
||||||||||||||||||||||
