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Okay...Rasheed Wallace..Do you love him...or do you hate him?
Rasheed's Mouth in Fine Form Before NBA Finals
Forward Delivers Rants on Media, Star Power and Pistons Style
By GREG BEACHAM, AP
SAN ANTONIO (June 8) - Reporters are clueless, and some officials are blatantly biased. The NBA doesn't like this finals matchup, and most fans outside Detroit don't believe the Pistons have any chance to win another championship.
The NBA Finals haven't even begun, but Rasheed Wallace's dry-ice wit and blue vocabulary are in top form.
The Pistons forward shouted and swore his way through pre-practice interviews Wednesday, taking on every topic with the same flair and pointedness that cost him $20,000 last week for criticizing the officiating in the Eastern Conference finals and using "inappropriate language."
Wallace didn't castigate referees this time, but everybody else was fair game. A sampling:
On the media: "I don't care what none of you cats think. Half of you are bandwagon, and the other half got the Spurs winning anyway, so it don't matter to us."
On the lack of star power: "I think that's what they're worried about up here in the (NBA) office. Here, in this series, there's no real stars. There's team unity. ... To the fans who know basketball, it'll be a good series. But if you're looking for all the flashy dunks and all that stuff, then it's the wrong series."
On the Detroit style: "No, it ain't no fun playing us. We don't make it fun. Ain't none of that breakaway dunking and trying reverse dunks, trying out all that new play. Ain't none of that with us. We just go out and play defense. Teams know that when they come play us, they'd better bring their hard hats and a lunch. It's going to be a long fight, baby. Twelve rounds, twelve rounds."
"There's no media darlings on our team," Wallace added - perhaps forgetting about himself.
Wallace's versatile game could be the key to the Pistons' hopes against the deeper Spurs, who will hope the forward slips into one of the offensive lulls that have plagued him in the postseason. Detroit is 8-0 when he scores at least 20 points, but he managed just two points in a Game 5 loss to the Heat.
Wallace adheres to the us-against-the-world doctrine of most successful sports teams, but he takes it one step further: "That's how it is, even if everybody is behind us. We play for each other."
06/08/05 19:48 EDT
http://aolsvc.news.aol.com/sports/article.adp?id=20050608220609990001
Rasheed's Mouth in Fine Form Before NBA Finals
Forward Delivers Rants on Media, Star Power and Pistons Style
By GREG BEACHAM, AP
SAN ANTONIO (June 8) - Reporters are clueless, and some officials are blatantly biased. The NBA doesn't like this finals matchup, and most fans outside Detroit don't believe the Pistons have any chance to win another championship.
The NBA Finals haven't even begun, but Rasheed Wallace's dry-ice wit and blue vocabulary are in top form.
The Pistons forward shouted and swore his way through pre-practice interviews Wednesday, taking on every topic with the same flair and pointedness that cost him $20,000 last week for criticizing the officiating in the Eastern Conference finals and using "inappropriate language."
Wallace didn't castigate referees this time, but everybody else was fair game. A sampling:
On the media: "I don't care what none of you cats think. Half of you are bandwagon, and the other half got the Spurs winning anyway, so it don't matter to us."
On the lack of star power: "I think that's what they're worried about up here in the (NBA) office. Here, in this series, there's no real stars. There's team unity. ... To the fans who know basketball, it'll be a good series. But if you're looking for all the flashy dunks and all that stuff, then it's the wrong series."
On the Detroit style: "No, it ain't no fun playing us. We don't make it fun. Ain't none of that breakaway dunking and trying reverse dunks, trying out all that new play. Ain't none of that with us. We just go out and play defense. Teams know that when they come play us, they'd better bring their hard hats and a lunch. It's going to be a long fight, baby. Twelve rounds, twelve rounds."
"There's no media darlings on our team," Wallace added - perhaps forgetting about himself.
Wallace's versatile game could be the key to the Pistons' hopes against the deeper Spurs, who will hope the forward slips into one of the offensive lulls that have plagued him in the postseason. Detroit is 8-0 when he scores at least 20 points, but he managed just two points in a Game 5 loss to the Heat.
Wallace adheres to the us-against-the-world doctrine of most successful sports teams, but he takes it one step further: "That's how it is, even if everybody is behind us. We play for each other."
06/08/05 19:48 EDT
http://aolsvc.news.aol.com/sports/article.adp?id=20050608220609990001
