Rasheed Wallace Misunderstood

In the previous season Rasheed Wallace got the same number of MVP votes as Paul Pierce. This is an evidence of the fact that he is not underestimated. However the truth is that he is largely misunderstood. The viewer usually focuses on his baseline jumper, on his shouting at the referees and his three ball. However if the previous decade is analyzed the best value of Wallace is as a defensive anchor.

Ben’s absence

During the initial period of this millennium the credit of the defensive resurgence of Detroit goes mainly to Ben Wallace. At times when Big Ben was absent the gap in the frontcourt has been successfully compensated by Rasheed Wallace. Rasheed is the 50th best shot-blocker of all time. It has been seen so far that he does not foul often, hits the boards hard and blocks a large number of shots.

Rasheed’s teams

In his entire career so far Rasheed has been a member of a below-average defensive team just one time – when he was with the 1995-96 Bullets. After this season he has been involved with quite a few best defensive teams. This includes the Blazers and the Pistons. Scottie Pippen and Dale Davis were some of the robust defenders of Portland. Although the coach on the floor was Pippen the anchor was Rasheed. He can be aptly called as the linchpin of the D. His ability with the ball enabled his team to surpass the Lakers in Detroit.