"Mr T" vs. Sheed

["hironaka@xxxxxxxxx"<hironaka@xxxxxxxxx>]

Mo Cheeks sees tonight's game as a showdown between 
Rasheed Wallace's defense and Celts captain Antoine 
Walker (the NBA technical fouls leader). How smart and 
effectively each can play seems likely to determine the 
outcome. 

An earlier excerpt (Dec 16) I'm pasting directly below 
the Oregonian article hints at what defenders have done 
to try to take Rasheed out of his game. 


Cheeks comes to Wallace's defense 
01/03/03
JASON QUICK 

BOSTON -- With the passion of a politician, Trail Blazers 
coach Maurice Cheeks is trying to lobby the public's 
opinion of Rasheed Wallace. 
     
His initial goal of cooling Wallace's infamous temper has 
been achieved. Wallace has four technicals in 30 games -- 
down from the 10 he had last season after 30 games -- and 
he appears to be on the cusp of relinquishing the 
technical title he has held for the past three seasons to 
Boston's Antoine Walker, who has a league-leading 12. 

Now, Cheeks is directing his energy toward Wallace's 
game, spending more time in recent weeks pointing out the 
defense that Wallace plays. 

"Rasheed has been great this season, and not just 
offensively," Cheeks said. "That's what most people talk 
about with Rasheed, but I don't think people are giving 
him credit for his defensive ability. He is pretty good. 
I can't put whether he should be on the (all-defensive) 
first team or second team, but give me some power 
forwards who are better." 

When Cheeks didn't receive immediate candidates, he said 
his point had been made. 

"So then why shouldn't he be considered among the best?" 
Cheeks said. "Just look at the guys he has to defend in 
our conference, and look what he has done against them." 

The statistics support Cheeks' claim. 

On Dec. 14, Wallace held Minnesota's Kevin Garnett to 21 
points on 9 of 27 shooting -- Garnett's third-worst 
shooting night of the season. On Nov. 9, San Antonio's 
Tim Duncan had 16 points and a season-low six rebounds, 
both well below his averages. 

Then there are the Clippers' Elton Brand, who went 3 of 9 
and 5 of 13 against Wallace; Utah's Karl Malone, 3 of 9; 
and Sacramento's Chris Webber, 8 of 24. 

"Rasheed can pretty much hold his own against anybody in 
this league," Scottie Pippen said. "He is a very good 
defender and I think if he took it upon himself and made 
a conscious effort, he could be even better to the point 
where he gets recognition for his game as a defender. 

"But we all know Rasheed . . . he doesn't want to go to 
the extreme to do things like that," Pippen said. "He 
doesn't want that kind of recognition." 

As is his custom, Wallace declined to acknowledge 
questions for this article. 

But when the Blazers (18-12) play at Boston (19-12) 
tonight, he will be forced to answer the challenge put to 
him by Cheeks: guarding the Celtics' Walker, one of the 
most versatile power forwards in the league, who is 
coming off a 33-point game. 

"I think we have a guy who can guard him, I really do," 
Cheeks said. "Rasheed is long enough to challenge his 
three (-point shot), and he can move his feet well enough 
when Antoine is in front of him. I think it's a great 
matchup for him." 

Last season, Walker averaged 20.5 points in two games 
against the Blazers, but he shot just 36.8 percent (14 of 
38). 

Pippen said the key tonight will be how smartly Wallace 
plays Walker, who likes to drift outside the three-point 
line, as well as post up and/or dribble past defenders. 
Wallace has struggled recently with ticky-tack fouls that 
have forced him to the bench. On Monday in Detroit, 
Wallace had two fouls in the first 40 seconds. 

"Until Rasheed decides not to get those little reach-in 
fouls, he will be in foul trouble," Pippen said. "But 
when he starts reaching in, and grabbing at guys driving 
to the basket, then we have to worry about him leaving 
the game. But again, he needs to recognize that if he 
made a conscious effort, he could be better." 

Still, many around the league think Wallace already is 
good enough. Detroit assistant Tony Brown, who coached 
Wallace in Portland, said Wallace was a big reason the 
Blazers were one of the NBA's best teams for so long. 

"When I was in Portland, we had him matched up against 
some of the best power forwards in the league and we 
didn't ever double team, we played him straight up," 
Brown said. "He was guarding Garnett, Duncan, 
Webber . . . and he held his own, which gave us a lift 
because we didn't have guys scrambling all over the floor 
trying to help him. So in that respect, I think he is one 
of the better defensive players because he doesn't need 
any help." 

And Wallace seems to pride himself on not needing 
defensive help. In Monday's game against Detroit, Wallace 
was matched against Corliss Williamson. On one 
possession, a Blazer doubled Williamson, who passed to an 
open shooter, who scored. 

"During a timeout, Rasheed said, 'Hey, don't ever do that 
again; I don't need help,' " Cheeks said. "And that is so 
valuable to a team just knowing that he is going to be OK 
no matter what." 

Brown said Wallace has a unique blend of length (6-foot-
11), quickness, and raw athletic ability. 

"His mobility is probably the biggest factor, and with 
guys like Duncan, Garnett and Webber, they kind of out-
quick, out-jump their guys, but they can't do that with 
Rasheed," Brown said. "And they know that." 

Now, Cheeks hopes the rest of the league begins to take 
notice. Jason Quick: 503-221-4372; 
jasonquick@news.oregonian.com 


http://www.oregonlive.com/blazers/oregonian/index.ssf?/xml
/story.ssf/html_standard.xsl?/base/sports/104004334168352.
xml

(...) Nobody questions Wallace's talent. But it appears 
the rest of the NBA is starting to question his 
toughness. An emerging trend this season has been to 
bump, push and knock Wallace when he gets around the 
basket, which quickly sends Wallace scurrying to the 
perimeter for outside shots. 

Wallace has scored a season-low seven points three times 
this season -- all against physical defenders: New 
Jersey's Kenyon Martin, Houston's Kenny Thomas and the 
Clippers' Elton Brand. His eight-point performance Friday 
was against another bruiser, Milwaukee's Anthony Mason. 

Wallace never has been one to spend the offseason 
sculpting his body through weightlifting.

(...) Wallace has shown signs that he can play like a 
star -- scoring 34 points against Dallas and 30 against 
Sacramento. But he also has shown he can fade into 
relative anonymity on any night, as he did last week when 
he recorded back-to-back games of seven and eight points. 
     
All the while, he has exhibited what appears to be an 
indifference to losing, often joking on the court with 
opposing players during runaway defeats and yukking it up 
in the locker room after disheartening losses. That 
behavior has been coupled with questionable decision-
making off the court (in a police report he admitted to 
smoking marijuana during a car ride home from Seattle 
after a game), and the presence of a temper that is 
improving but still exists. 


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