Gerald Wallace Doesn’t Know His Role on the Brooklyn Nets

It’s been a rough last few months for Gerald Wallace. He lost confidence in his shooting, is struggling against the Chicago Bulls in the Playoffs, and now an increasingly frustrated Wallace says he doesn’t know what role to play for his squad. Per the Chicago Tribune and NY Daily News: “One day after a 79-76 Game 3 loss to the Bulls, Nets forward Gerald Wallace let off some steam regarding his importance to the team. ‘I couldn’t tell you my role,’ Wallace said Friday at the team hotel. ‘I don’t have a clue of what my role is on this team.’ At the start of the series, coach P.J. Carlesimo said the Nets wouldn’t win without Wallace. Then Thursday night, Wallace found himself on the bench in crunch time. He scored just five points in 25 minutes, which followed his two points in 19 minutes in a Game 2 loss. Wallace scored 14 points in the Nets’ 106-89 Game 1 win. Carlesimo downplayed Wallace’s stance. ‘I just think that we’re going through a tough time right now,’ Carlesimo said. ‘That’s what the playoffs are all about. We’re all frustrated. And we have to … I have to do a better job of constantly defining roles and redefining roles so we can perform the way we’re capable of performing.’ […] Wallace is a slasher who is more comfortable in the open floor, and he said his struggles are related to Brooklyn’s inability to push the ball in transition against the Bulls. In the halfcourt game that has defined the last two games, Wallace has been asked to hit spot-up jumpers. He has missed most. ‘My shot just ain’t falling,’ he said. ‘Execution is poor offensively. They’re doing a good job defensively disrupting our rhythm. …Playing in a halfcourt set where they kind of load up. They’re pretty good defensively of pushing you to one side of the court. We haven’t been able to get in transition the past two games, and they’ve done a great job of keeping us from doing that.'”