<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">Detroit News - The pressures of a long, gruelling season are slowly starting to wear on Piston powerhouse Ben Wallace, who according to the Detroit News refused to re-enter the team's recent loss to the Orlando Magic after being taken out of the game. With 7:57 left in the fourth quarter, coach Flip Saunders took Wallace out of the game. Wallace was clearly peeved. He had played all 15 minutes of the second half to that point, and he stormed to the end of the bench uttering a torrent of unprintables directed at Saunders. Saunders explained the move to Wallace, who waved him off. A couple of minutes later, Saunders wanted to put him back into the game. Wallace didn't move. He wouldn't even look at Saunders. With the Pistons back in contention and threatening to steal a victory, Saunders again summoned Wallace. Again, Wallace waved him off and stayed seated at the bench, not even getting up to join the huddle during timeouts. "He said he couldn't go," was all Saunders would say after the game. Wallace made it clear he wasn't injured and that he will be ready to play today against the Pacers.</div> http://www.realgm.com/src_wiretap_archives...ut_at_saunders/
Yeah well the last time this happend was with Steve Francis (and you all know how that played out). Ben Wallace is becoming a free agent this summer so could this effect his chances at getting a long term deal?
not a very classy move at all. Not exactly screaming "team player" or "leader" pulling antics like that. In my opinion he should get suspended for something like that.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting Swish15:</div><div class="quote_post">Yeah well the last time this happend was with Steve Francis (and you all know how that played out). Ben Wallace is becoming a free agent this summer so could this effect his chances at getting a long term deal?</div> I fail to see how What Ben did was wrong but he was frustrated and isn't even an issue now He came back with a 22 rebound performance today.
Made him look like he got his periods,too bad that nobody else on the team was man enough to tell him to go back in and stop fooling around (Looking at Dale,Chauncey,Sheed) Seems like his wife told him that he sucked last game like she usually does when Ben does bad cause he's been a beast out there today as mentioned before.
There were some points about Ben's regrets for doing what he did that weren't posted on the first article. Here's the whole article which show's Wallace say's was out of character. <div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">AUBURN HILLS -- Sometimes you snap. Even the great ones snap. An 82-game schedule is as much a mental grind as it is a physical one. Over a three-week span, you've had to knock heads and elbows and knees twice with Shaquille O'Neal. You are playing against the biggest, strongest and fastest of your profession -- Miami, Indiana, New Jersey, Dallas, Philadelphia, Milwaukee, Phoenix -- one after the next. You get weary. Your body aches and your nerves get frayed. Things that used to roll right off you are starting to get under your skin. You are, after all, human. You snap. On Friday night, Ben Wallace snapped. With 7:57 left in the fourth quarter of a 89-87 loss in Orlando, and the Pistons trailing by eight points, coach Flip Saunders took Wallace out of the game. Wallace was clearly peeved. Never mind that he had played all 15 minutes of the second half to that point, he stormed to the end of the bench uttering a torrent of unprintables directed at Saunders. Saunders explained the move to Wallace, who waved him off. A couple of minutes later, Saunders wanted to put him back into the game. Wallace didn't move. He wouldn't even look at Saunders. With the Pistons back in contention and threatening to steal a victory, Saunders again summoned Wallace. Again, Wallace waved him off and stayed seated at the bench, not even getting up to join the huddle during timeouts. "He said he couldn't go," was all Saunders would say after the game. Wallace made it clear he wasn't injured and that he will be ready to play today against the Pacers. In the clear light of a new day, Wallace will regret what he did. To refuse to enter a game is so beyond his character, it's hard to believe it happened. He is a captain and a leader on the best team in basketball. His identity -- and thus the identity of this team -- has been forged on the principles of going to work every day, having your teammates' backs and relentlessly fighting through all the bumps and hurdles life throws at you. For him to have hung his teammates out to dry like that, for sure, will be tough for him to swallow today. Already, the team was without Richard Hamilton, who was in Coatesville, Pa., attending a family funeral, and Rasheed Wallace, who left in the third quarter because of back spasms. When Ben Wallace refused to come back, Saunders had to use rookie Jason Maxiell, who hadn't dressed in nine games and hadn't played in the previous 13, to spell Antonio McDyess for four minutes. Then, with Wallace still refusing to come in, Saunders went with Dale Davis and McDyess down the stretch. "Those guys on the floor really spilled their guts," Saunders said. They did. Maxiell had a basket and a steal. Davis had four points. McDyess chased down a missed free throw in the final seconds to give the Pistons one more shot at tying the score. "Those guys did a great job," Ben Wallace said. "They stayed ready and prepared and really gave us a lift." Ben Wallace wouldn't go into all the causes of his frustration. Neither he nor Saunders felt it was any kind of crisis. Several teammates waved it off as a temporary spat between Wallace and Saunders -- nothing horribly unusual -- and felt it would clear up by today. Part of Ben Wallace's frustration might stem from his problems at the free-throw line. He has made just 5 of his last 32 attempts. He missed two free throws in the fourth quarter Friday, and was still stewing over that when Saunders pulled him. Ben Wallace also said earlier in the week that he didn't want to have his minutes reduced. He feels like to be best prepared for the postseason, he needs to maintain his normal work load. One frustration Ben Wallace will voice loud and clear, though, is with the way the Pistons are playing. Though they are winning, and though they played a mostly solid game at Miami on Thursday, he is bothered by what he calls, "garbage basketball", particularly early in games. "We can't keep putting ourselves in a hole every game," he said. "We are just not coming together at the start of games like we should and then we have to play like super heroes just to catch up. We can't keep making these games so hard on ourselves." The Pistons were tired and terrible for the most part in Orlando. They produced a season-low 14 assists. They settled for quick perimeter shots. Ben Wallace had only one shot and rarely touched the ball. He has only taken nine shots the last three games combined. He's not asking to take a lot of shots. He just wants to be involved in the sets so that they aren't playing four on five at the offensive end. This is hardly a new rant from Ben Wallace. He went off on the same issue earlier in the season and it helped sparked the team's 37-5 start. Now, nobody is endorsing a sit-down strike as the right way to act out frustration. And it is mildly troubling that a 61-victory team would have to deal with such issues this late in the season. But, over the years, a Ben Wallace meltdown has generally wound up being a good tonic for the team. It usually sounds the alarm that it is time to get serious. The playoffs are two weeks away.</div> Source
Why is everyone mad at Ben? He has provided everygame everyday. Give the guy a break it must be such a wear and tear for all those games. He was frustrated give him slack, its not like any of you haven't been frustrated before.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting Franchise4Ever:</div><div class="quote_post">Why is everyone mad at Ben? He has provided everygame everyday. Give the guy a break it must be such a wear and tear for all those games. He was frustrated give him slack, its not like any of you haven't been frustrated before.</div> I love how when Ben Wallace refuses to enter a tight game, people make it seem like it's no big deal and try to defend him. Yet when Steve Francis does this same exact thing people call him a team cancer, a slacker, and a loser.
A stupid, selfish move by Wallace. And its so out of character for him too. He should know better than to do something that could potentially break his team's chemistry. With his team's great record, there's no reason for him to be questioning his coach's decisions.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting Swish15:</div><div class="quote_post">I love how when Ben Wallace refuses to enter a tight game, people make it seem like it's no big deal and try to defend him. Yet when Steve Francis does this same exact thing people call him a team cancer, a slacker, and a loser.</div> It's completely different, for one Ben did It down to frustration with the way he was playing and 2nd he has no history of being a problem. Francis does. It's silly to even compare.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting Swish15:</div><div class="quote_post">I love how when Ben Wallace refuses to enter a tight game, people make it seem like it's no big deal and try to defend him. Yet when Steve Francis does this same exact thing people call him a team cancer, a slacker, and a loser.</div> Maybe because he came back the next game and grabbed 22 rebounds? I do agree that people are harsh on Francis. The team he was on before Orlando have gone downhill since he left.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting Swish15:</div><div class="quote_post">I love how when Ben Wallace refuses to enter a tight game, people make it seem like it's no big deal and try to defend him. Yet when Steve Francis does this same exact thing people call him a team cancer, a slacker, and a loser.</div> I never called Francis any of those and I am actually a fan of Francis'. When trade rumors were buzzing and they said he might come to LA I was freaking overjoyed. To say its different with Ben and Steve refusing to enter a game is stupid. Not entering a game is not entering a game end of story. Both probably did it out of frustration but they both did not enter the game. <div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">The team he was on before Orlando have gone downhill since he left.</div> You would not believe how many Francis haters are Magic fans. They blamed him for their crappy season and said he's a baby, idiot, etc. This site magicmadness.us even had the gull to call him an overall terrible player. I never see people complaining when Stevie got his first career triple double in Orlando, or posted a career high assists per game in Orlando.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting Franchise4Ever:</div><div class="quote_post">I never called Francis any of those and I am actually a fan of Francis'. When trade rumors were buzzing and they said he might come to LA I was freaking overjoyed. To say its different with Ben and Steve refusing to enter a game is stupid. Not entering a game is not entering a game end of story. Both probably did it out of frustration but they both did not enter the game.</div> I wasn't saying that you said those things. I was just comparing this to the Francis situation and how it seems like the majority of people posting in this thread are defending Big Ben.
