The NBA, probably more so than any of the other three major team sports, is a tonic-filled league.
Feeling down, Bunky? Losing a few games? Take some Philly. Maybe a teaspoon of Atlanta. I heard some Charlotte mixed in with your orange juice could work wonders.
It's a league of dregs, really. No real middle class. The Haves and the Have Nots.
The Pistons were a little wobbly going into Philadelphia last night, losers of four of their past five games. They're playing without starting point guard Chauncey Billups. Tayshaun Prince was quoted as saying team chemistry was off kilter. Others denied it, but there you are.
And Rasheed Wallace was late for practice.
Coach Flip Saunders held Sheed out of the starting lineup against the Have Not Sixers, presumably as some sort of disciplinary measure for being late Monday.
Coming off the bench, Wallace played about 30 minutes, scoring eight points and snaring six rebounds.
"I'm straight," Wallace said afterward. "I might even ask him (Saunders) to do it tomorrow. Maybe that's one of the things that we need, just try something different."
Right.
Even Saunders admitted in his postgame comments that he liked the way the team played with Wallace coming off the bench. Jason Maxiell started.
The Wallace "benching" is a non-issue. The reality is that the Pistons are in the middle of a glorious part of their schedule, where they play Charlotte (9-23), Atlanta (10-22), Boston (12-21), and Minnesota twice (17-15).
NBA Tonic.
That's how you do it in pro basketball. Wipe the floor with the Have Nots, and try to break even with the Haves. I'm telling you, a team could chalk up 50 wins easily if they follow that recipe. Especially in the Leastern Conference, where the Have Nots mostly reside. Nine of the conference's 15 teams are playing below .500 ball, and four of those are under .400. Two are even below .300.
The cure for what ails ya.
It's the time of the season -- the frigid cold of January, the playoffs months away -- to exercise in experiments such as Rasheed Wallace off the bench. The players are bored. And what better time to tweak, with the Have Nots dotting the schedule over the next couple of weeks?
But circle next Wednesday, the 17th, on your basketball calendar. The Pistons host the Utah Jazz that evening. A real life Have. A Western Conference team, natch.
Even the defending league champs, the Miami Heat, are a Have Not, currently. The curse of the East.
All will be right again with the Pistons after they take their generous dose of league tonic this week and next.
Then they'll be ready for Sheed to be late again. Maybe he should come off the bench against some Haves. It's still January, after all. Experiment time.
1 comment:
I'm with you, Eno. 'Sheed could be a great weapon off the bench. Plus he has the team mentality, in that for all his eccentricities, Rashhed will do whatever is best for the team as a whole. If someone as talented as Kevin McHale could be a 6th man, why not 'Sheed?
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