It took him 88 games, but Rasheed Wallace finally came to play for the Boston Celtics. Throughout the season ‘Sheed’s been somewhere between a running joke & major disappointment. The Boston Three Party thought they would be getting the Rasheed from a few years back, the one who could stretch the defense with his timely outside shooting & vast array of post moves. Instead, they got an out of shape, aging player who could’ve been charged for committing fraud… for impersonating a basketball player (I see you Biggga).
Shoot, if it wasn’t for this basket he scored for the Bulls late in the season, half of the country wouldn’t have even known he was still in the league. So you can imagine the pleasant surprise Wallace provided his teammates last night: seven of eight from the field, three from four on three’s for 17 points and two rebounds thrown in for good measure. As a NBA fan nomad & fan of Rasheed since his days in Carolina blue, it was good to see the mercurial forward have a good showing. Mainly because who knows how many outings like this he has left in him. Perhaps Doc needs to call him out more often… or maybe they told him it was time to earn his paycheck.
On another note, isn’t it funny that LeBron’s elbow hurt much more after missed jumpers than when he makes his now nightly chase down block? I’m just sayin’…
On to other matters, let’s welcome the Atlanta Hawks to the second round. For a moment it was looking like Orlando was going to get a bye or something.
Orlando Magic Vs. Atlanta Hawks
Atlanta can be one of the more entertaining teams in the league – especially when they don’t have to play on the road. But few (if any) outside of Milwaukee thought they’d get pushed to seven against a undermanned Bucks squad running on nothing but heart. The Hawks can (& should) play up to their competition, but they’ve yet to prove they can hang with the true class of the league. If they want this to be the start of that, they’ll need to steal one on the road & hold home court.
They’re 2-10 in their last 12 playoff road games, which doesn’t bode well for them coming into this series. Stranger things have happened & if they want to change that stat, they’ll have to get Dwight Howard in early foul trouble & get to the hole. The first part of that shouldn’t be too hard, with fouls being the only thing Dwight gets faster than blocks. Stopping the rest of the team will be a bit harder. The Hawks are moving in the right direction, but they’ve still got some work to do.
MZ — Magic in 5 Patrick M. | S. Cadet | Jason H. — Magic in 6 J. Tinsley — Magic in 7
Filed under: SmokingSection Tagged: ATLANTA HAWKS, BOSTON CELTICS, CLEVELAND CAVALIERS, DWIGHT HOWARD, ORLANDO MAGIC, RASHEED WALLACE, SMOKE BREAK, SPORTS, Vince Carter 2010 NBA Playoffs