‘Sheed Fitting In Seamlessly

By Ryan McNeill
for HOOPSADDICT.com

Published: October 26, 2009

You would think fitting in and finding a role on a team with three teammates that are first ballot Hall Of Famers would make for a tough transition.

Not for a wily veteran like Rasheed Wallace who has spent 14 season in the NBA with four teams. After spending less than a month with his new teammates, he’s managed to blend in seamlessly due to his boisterous personality and his knowledge of the plays teams around the NBA run.

“He’s an old man,” his new head coach, Doc Rivers, joked with the media during a recent trip to Toronto. “I think with Rasheed (Wallace) you could call out Toronto’s play, our play, Detroit’s play. He’s seen them all. It’s funny because when we put in our fist play the other day he already knew it. We played him in the playoffs so he knows our offense in some cases better than some of our guys.”

It’s not just Rivers that acknowledges Wallace’s high basketball I.Q., as Ray Allen, one of the three faces of the franchise, was eager to explain the positive impact Wallace has had so far on his new teammates.

“I think anytime we talk about a player who has a high basketball i.q., it’s a player who is out on the floor and he makes plays,” Allen explained to Hoops Addict. “I think he’s a guy that makes plays. He knows where to be position wise and he’s not concerned about whether or not he got a shot as much as (he’s) worried about getting his teammate a shot. He has a passion for the game and you can’t go wrong having him out there on the court because of what he’ll do for the team.”

It’s not just his experience that has impressed his new teammates, it’s his wide range of talents that he now brings to the Celtics.

It’s the fact he can bully opposing players in the post on one possession and then on the next he’ll linger beyond the arc on offense to pull opposing bigs out of their comfort zone.

Throw in the fact that he shares the ball like few other bigs in the NBA and it’s no wonder players love to play with him.

All of these reasons are why Kevin Garnett, the alpha male on this Celtics roster, is happy to have Wallace in the mix this season.

“One thing about ‘Sheed is he can also go outside,” Garnett explained to Hoops Addict. “Obviously, he has a mid-range game, but from a post players perspective he is one of the hardest to guard in the post because he shares the ball, he plays the right way, sets great picks and all-in-all he plays great defense. He’s very talkative, which helps. When you have a guy who gives himself up for the sake of the team it makes things very easy.”

Sure, it’s great to have a veteran who can easily understand your sets and is talented, but what has to be scary for the rest of the NBA is the speed at which Wallace has shifted gears from being a starter in Detroit for the past six seasons to seamlessly embracing his role as a player who comes off the bench in Boston.

It’s that whole selfless thing that Garnett was talking about. Sure, a lot of players refer to their teammates as being selfless, but that’s just a cliche that gets thrown out their so that egos aren’t hurt.

It turns out Wallace is actually being selfless when it comes to his role with the Celtics.

After averaging 15.0 points and 6.9 rebounds over 33.9 minutes per game, you’d think he would have signed with a team this summer that provided him with an opportunity to start.

Not Wallace, he’s just searching for a chance to win some more Championship bling and is more than happy to do that by providing a spark off the bench.

“It’s a different kind of role,” Wallace explained to Hoops Addict. “I’ve sort of taken the kind of role that Robert Horry had in San Antonio for the simple fact that there was no pressure on him. Pop knew what he could do and when he came into the game he got him a couple of shots.”

The fact that he’s identified his role, and allowed himself to be humble about it, speaks measures to his desire to win another NBA Championship.

Which is fitting, because with Wallace in the mix it looks like the Celtics picked up the perfect veteran player to help return to the NBA Finals again this season.

One Comment on "‘Sheed Fitting In Seamlessly"

Today’s Celtics Links 10/26 « Flceltsfan’s Weblog on Tue, 27th Oct 2009 12:22 pm

[...] Sexy… “ Lester Hudson is a better 3 point shooter than Ray Allen HoopsAddict ‘Sheed Fitting In Seamlessly Celtics Hub Must-Read Sunday: C’s Past and Present Ray’s in shape, Rasheed fitting in, [...]

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