Novel Idea: Rasheed on the Block
Wallace and his opponents know he’s simply unstoppable down there, and Celtics fans should be happy to hear that he’s looking to post up more and shoot less bricks from three-point land these days: “His game is alternately endearing and infuriating to fans. His makes beget some of the Garden’s loudest cheers; his clanged treys set of a chorus of groans. That Wallace is bold and unapologetic simply highlights the latter. ‘Like my mom said, 50 percent of the people are going to love you and 50 percent are going to hate you,’ he said. ‘You can’t please everybody. That’s pretty much how I play. I don’t sit out there and worry about what the next person is thinking at all. ‘Oh, he’s got too many techs (technical fouls) and he shoots too many 3’s.’ I don’t worry about that.’ Just as opponents don’t worry much when Wallace work’s outside the arc. Prior to a recent game, an assistant coach from another club saw him practice his 3-pointers and said, ‘Every guy in the league loves to watch that. They love him shooting 3’s.’ When it was mentioned that Wallace’s inside game is better than expected, the assistant said, ‘Unstoppable. Unstoppable. He’s got so many moves down on the low block that you can’t stop him. That’s why we love to see him outside.’ Wallace came to the Celts with a .471 career field goal percentage, with a .342 mark on treys. This year he’s .404 from the floor and .283 from long range. Hidden therein is the fact he is shooting .518 on 2-pointers. Asked about getting inside more, Wallace said, ‘That’s where I was born at. That’s my bread and butter. That’s what I want. That’s what I want. But if that play design is for that 3, then that’s what I have to do.’ He has made good on his vow to do more in the paint after the All-Star break. Prior to that point, 216 of his 431 attempts (50.1 percent) were treys. Since then, 24 of his 64 shots (37.5 percent) have been from the distance.”
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