Sheed was ahead of his time. He knew the refs were betting on games. And he knew that shooting a 3 is more efficient than pounding in the post for 2 even though he was constantly criticized for that.
He knew the Blazers were never going to get a fair shake. Sure he knew that, but I think another reason he shot more threes was because he was tired of getting fouled inside and it not getting called. That and he loved shooting threes.
I think you're thinking of the wrong Pistons. The team Rasheed was on wasn't in any way a "bad boy" team. Chauncy Billups, Ben Wallace, Tayshaun Prince and Richard Hamilton were their other best players and none of them were particularly "bad boy"-ish, especially at that point in their careers. Ironically, the only "bad boy" team Rasheed Wallace was on was the Blazers in their "Jail Blazers" era. Wallace didn't ruin the Pistons' chances because he didn't ruin anyone's chances...for both the Pistons and Blazers, he was a tremendous player who made them better.
I read some transcripts about that game 7 and the number one comment from the Lakers was "Rasheed was killing us - we couldn't stop him, and then they stopped going to him"
They drew plenty of Bad Boy references at the time, for obvious locale and grittyness reasons. "Bad" didn't apply to just behavior.
Better go visit those "Transcripts" again. Wallace got 30 points on 26 shots in 45 mins. People around here punish CJ for stats like that all year long. But lets give him a pass because he was the main attraction and in no way did the Blazers "Quit going to him". What we can't give him a pass on is 4 rebounds, 1 assist and he got to the line 5 times. He sulked his way through the end of the game and essentially wilted under pressure . He missed 6 shots in a row from 10 mins left in the game to 3 mins left in the game. After the Blazers lost the lead he did make a shot to tie it again but he quickly folded to Robert Horry and let two huge rebounds get away. The very last thing anyone can say is "The Blazers Quit Going To Him". He had every chance to control that game but after every miss all he wanted to do was complain and bitch at the refs. We all watched it. He left the Blazers 4 on 5 time and time again. I know.... I know.... Reality is hard sometimes. Here is a link to Play by Play if you would like to refresh your memory. https://www.basketball-reference.com/boxscores/pbp/200006040LAL.html As far as the Pistons are concerned? Really? Who wants to compare being third fiddle on a stacked team to what happened here in Portland when he had just as much talent around him?
Thanks for posting that. I also saw that quote from a Laker who talks about Blazers stopped going to Wallace but also doubted it when viewing a short transcript. I'll go more with what Scottie said about Blazers not going hard to the basket.
Was at that game. It was a BS call against Rasheed to start who was guarding Shaq. Then the Pippen ball chuck, and then the dolls raining down. TV doesn't show how many hit the floor. IIRC, that was Bennet Salvatore and the booing went on for a long time.
A defensive three second call. Scottie lost his cool. But the refs' treatment of our team was garbage all thru that era. Our players' reactions were quite warranted.
I've listened to a few episodes of their podcast and I actually enjoy it. These guys have grown up and matured. I get those guys were hot-heads back in the day, but it's probably time for people to recognize growth... If you can't do that, you have some maturing to do as well.
You either flop or stand there and get called for the foul and lose the game. That was Shaq. Nobody (short of the Dream) could guard him. Actually, Sheed might have been able to. Who cares about getting popped in the mouth when you have a game to win? Tell your teammate it's no big deal and prop him up. Go win a title. That's what a leader does. But he wasn't a leader. He was an absolute cancer to that team. Though I am glad to hear him talk the way he is now. His head wasn't right here in Portland. And that's why he was a cancer.
