Limping Wallace still running mouth
Tuesday, May 16, 2006
Jodie Valade
Plain Dealer Reporter
Rasheed Wallace offered no retractions. No apologies, no sheepish grins. The forward simply shrugged after his Pistons stumbled, 74-72, to the Cavaliers in Game 4, and said he has no worries. Not about the twisted ankle he suffered in the second quarter of Monday's game, and certainly not about his failure to make good on the promise Detroit would triumph in Game 4 of this second-round series.
"It's cool," Wallace said. "I ain't worried about these cats."
He isn't worried about the "guaran-Sheed" he made after his Pistons lost Game 3 at The Q - his promise Detroit would not only win this second-round series, but do it in five games.
Wallace merely complimented the Cavaliers' surprising new defensive tilt that led to Cleveland topping Detroit at its own grind-it-out game.
That is, he sort of complimented the Cavaliers, before making yet another guarantee: The Pistons will still win this series, even if it now will take at least six games.
"Even the sun shines on a dog's [behind]," Wallace said. "There ain't no way . . . they're going to beat us in no series. They beat us tonight, which is good for them. . . . But, nah, they ain't going to beat us in the series."
Not everyone was as unconcerned as Wallace. Pistons center Ben Wallace responded to only a couple questions before cutting off his interview with reporters.
"You can't let a man predict a win then go out and play like that, stink it up like we did," Ben Wallace said. "Players, coaching staff, everyone."
It didn't help the Pistons weren't at full strength, with Rasheed Wallace unable to contribute fully to his guarantee. Wallace rolled his right ankle while defending LeBron James with 9:22 remaining in the second quarter. As James drove to the basket, Wallace landed awkwardly and his right ankle buckled. He limped off the court and straight to the locker room - as the crowd at The Q roared its delight at the talkative forward's misfortune.
He returned a little more than a minute later, and continued popping in and out of the locker room where he received treatment. A Pistons trainer massaged Wallace's calf while he sat on the bench.
Wallace sat the final 4:28, when the game was at its closest. After Monday's game, though, he proclaimed he was fine and ready to contribute to his next guarantee.
"I'm all right," Wallace said. "Don't send me to the glue factory yet."
Which means Wallace will return to Cleveland for Game 6 on Friday, something he already promised he wouldn't do. If the Pistons have trouble finding accommodations for the unexpected return to Cleveland, James said they are welcome to camp out at his house.
"You gotta kill them with kindness," James smiled. "Every last one of them can stay in my house. . . . and I'll lock them indoors when it's time to come here."