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Misfit Rasheed is Pistons' perfect fit
by Dennis Hans / February 20, 2004

With the acquisition of Zeljko Rebraca and Bob Sura, the Hawks are now odds-on favorites to win Atlanta’s B-level recreation league this summer — and the NBA Draft Lottery.

As for the team that traded away that dynamic duo, the Detroit Pistons have become legitimate contenders for the NBA crown.

Even if, as expected, Rasheed Wallace departs Detroit in the offseason, Joe Dumars made a great trade, because he gained a shot at the 2004 title without touching his team’s nucleus. The Pistons now have the East’s best three-man rotation at center and power forward in Ben Wallace, Mehmet Okur and Rasheed.

Rasheed not only provides the low-post scoring the Pistons lack, he relieves the pressure on Okur to feature that phase of his game, which at this point is still in the developmental stage. Rasheed commands double-teams in the post, freeing up the Pistons’ perimeter shooters. He also can draw a big defender out to the trey line, creating room for Tayshaun Prince, Chauncey Billups and Richard Hamilton to maneuver inside the arc.

Both Wallaces have the lateral quickness to guard small forwards, which provides the Pistons tremendous flexibility. If the team wants to go big for a short spell, they can play the Wallaces at forward with Memo or Elden Campbell at center. Rasheed also gives the Pistons another fine shot-swatting help defender.

Now it’s up to Larry Brown and Piston leaders Billups and Big Ben to help Rasheed fit in and keep him focused. Rasheed’s temper has cooled considerably over the past couple years, and we’ll soon find out if the cooling was related to the fact that it’s been a long time since he’s played a meaningful game or if he really does have his emotions somewhat under control.

Jazzing up the Magic

The DeShawn Stevenson-Gordan Giricek trade should help both the Magic and the Jazz, and there’s an outside chance the Magic have hit the jackpot. Stevenson has a lot of untapped potential, and he’s joining a coach who can help him tap it.

“Horses for courses” is a popular racetrack saying that means certain horses are better suited for a particular track. Well, there are certain players who need to get with the right type of coach if they are to blossom.

Not only is Johnny Davis a players’ coach, he’s proven that he can help a great raw talent leap quickly to the next level. Tracy McGrady has given Davis credit for working tirelessly with him to hone his footwork, to read and set up his defender, and to develop a repertoire of moves and counter-moves that have made him indefensible. This happened when Davis was an assistant to Doc Rivers, so it remains to be seen if head coach Davis will have the time to devote to a new protégé. If he doesn’t, let’s hope there’s a Magic assistant who’s up to the
task.

Is Stevenson as talented as T-Mac? Of course not. But Stevenson is more than just a muscular speed merchant. He’s got the same gifts that great halfbacks have — a combination of explosiveness and elusiveness that can wreak havoc on a defense. But in Utah, Stevenson was stuck in a catch-and-shoot straitjacket. He has become respectable in that role, but it’s far too limiting for someone with his abilities. If the Magic help him become a complete offensive player with an attacking mentality, watch out. He could be the complement to T-Mac that Grant Hill would have been (and may still become if he makes a miraculous recovery from a serious ankle problem). Speaking of Hill, if Davis has his plate full he could turn out to be Stevenson’s ideal mentor.

Giricek a good fit for Jazz

All things considered, Jerry Sloan is a great coach. But he’s a bit too structured for my tastes, a bit too stuck in his ways. But just as Stevenson should do better in Orlando, Giricek should thrive in Utah. He’ll get good shots in the Jazz offense, and with his sweet stroke within and beyond the arc, a nice first step and a good feel for the
game, he should emerge as a very efficient scorer. Defensively, he’ll never be much more than adequate, which at this stage makes him an improvement over 20-year-old Sasha Pavlovic, who’s got offensive skills but commits fouls in bunches because he lacks lateral quickness — for which there is no cure.

Van Horn, Thomas find the right homes

Sticking with the “horses for courses” theme, Keith Van Horn, acquired Sunday for the Bucks’ Tim Thomas, is another player joining his ideal coach. Milwaukee’s Terry Porter is one smart dude. He absorbed Pat Riley’s and Greg Popovich’s organizational skills while playing for the Heat and the Spurs, and Rick Adelman’s freedom-within-structure offensive philosophy, both as a player for years in Portland and as Adelman’s assistant last season with Sacramento. Porter is a very positive guy, so the focus will be on all the things that Van Horn does well, rather than on his shortcomings, as was the case in Philly and New Jersey (though not with his brief, successful stint playing for Lenny Wilkens in New York).

Isiah Thomas, main candidate for Executive of the Year, likes defenders who can move their feet, and that’s the one area where Tim Thomas outshines Van Horn. A good coach can hide one defender who’s a tad slow, but two is a tall order. The Knicks still have one such starter in Allan Houston, who’s extra slow defensively these days as he struggles with two bad knees. So it looks like this was another win-win trade, with the Knicks and Bucks each getting a little bit better, and each improving their chances of pulling a playoff surprise.

Dennis Hans’s essays on basketball — including the styles, rhythms and fundamentals of free-throw shooting — have appeared online at the Sporting News and Slate. His writings on other topics have appeared in the New York Times, Washington Post and Miami Herald, among other outlets.

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