Skip to main content

Ben Wallace, the 2004 Champ Pistons, Rob Williams and the Celtics upcoming season

Image
By

 Just finished watching an NBA TV replay of the 2004 Title-clinching Game-5 between the underdog Pistons versus the multi-superstar Lakers. Detroit took the game and Championship with the final score being 100-87 in favor of the Pistons.


My readers know my affection for that specific Detroit team. They had ZERO superstars, whereas LA had Shaquille O'Neal, Kobe Bryant, Karl Malone (out for Game 5) and Gary Payton. Chauncey Billups voiced his feelings best on his supposedly out-matched crew:

"People are not even thinking we had a chance to win one game in this series."

"We do play the right way, and we are truly a team" is what Pistons Coach Larry Brown had to say about his troops. He was right. His players pushed the ball up court to make Shaq work harder, played extremely-tough defense, moved the ball around and kept attacking the basket. It all worked, and Ben Wallace's play was astounding. I had honestly forgotten how tough and quick he was. And his rebounding was absolutely fierce. He racked up 18 points, 22 boards and three steals in the contest.


 I still lament the fact that Chauncey Billups never got a shot in Beantown after being drafted by Boston, and Wallace was considered too short to play center for the Celtics after going undrafted. Ben was listed at 6'9", 240 pounds, but he was most-likely shorter than that. The Celtics Rob Williams has comparable size at 6'8" and 237 pounds. He has Ben's athleticism and quickness. What do fans think additional physical and mental toughness could do to his game? And how about for the Celtics, more mid-range shots, tougher defense, pushing the pace and attacking the basket. Something to think about for a team wrongly mired in the middle of the pre-season rankings.


Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Elm Street Nightmare

By
 A true-and-suspenseful horror tale of haunting, homicides and the hunt for triple-murderer, Daniel Laplante - as told by the cops that were there By Lt. Thomas Lane (Ret.)  Daniel Laplante - cold, calm, clever, calculating- Photo: YouTube   Elm Street  surfaces on six (6) occasions in the Laplante saga: 1.) He  resided on Elm Street  in Townsend, Massachusetts  2.) He  kidnapped a woman  at gunpoint on  Elm Street, Pepperell , Massachusetts 3.) That kidnapped woman fled to the Gillogly residence on Elm Street after escaping from the armed fugitive, Laplante. 4.) He was arrested and transported to Massachusetts State Police Barracks on Elm Street in Concord . 5.) He was  tried, convicted   and sentenced for the murders at  Superior Court , corner of  Elm Stree t and Gorham Street, Lowell, Massachusetts. 6.) The author, Thomas Lane, lived on Elm Steet, Pepperell, Massachusetts while a police Sgt./Lt. for the t...
19 comments
Read more

In defense of Marcus Smart

By
 Let me make it clear first of all that I am totally against making a threat of any kind that even hints at harming, or certainly killing, another human being. Marcus Smart was wrong in doing so in the Celtics loss to the tanking Oklahoma City Thunder , and he deserved the one-game suspension. But to be honest, part of me loved that it occurred. . This type of thing can happen when a player gets to a point "beyond frustration" and is having a bad game. Marcus and his teammates have been under-performing generally - were in the process of losing to a pathetic-and-tanking Thunder team - and Smart was having a bad game . And he let loose verbally at the closest target - an NBA official. Wilt Chamberlain did a similar act versus referee, Earl Strom when Wilt was having his usual tortuous time at the free throw line (per Chicago Tribune's Sam Smith): ''He was in one of those 1-for-13s,'' recalls referee Earl Strom. ''Nothing was getting close. S...
Post a Comment
Read more

Did the Celtics Kevin McHale really have a wingspan of 8-feet?

By
According to many sources, the Celtics Kevin McHale did indeed have an estimated wingspan of 8-feet. One of those sources is Wikipedia, as seen below: Kevin McHale American basketball player DescriptionKevin Edward McHale is an American retired basketball player who played his entire professional career for the Boston Celtics. He is a Basketball Hall of Fame inductee, and is regarded as one of the best power forwards of all time. He was named to the NBA's 50th Anniversary All-Time Team. Wikipedia Born: December 19, 1957 (age 61 years), Hibbing, MN Wingspan: 8′ 0″ Height: 6′ 10″ Spouse: Lynn McHale (m. 1982) NBA draft: 1980, Boston Celtics (Round: 1 / Pick: 3) Hall of fame induction: 1999 Number: 32 (Boston Celtics / Power forward, Center) Kevin was listed at 6'10" tall when he was drafted with the 3rd pick in the 1980 draft. Red Auerbach, in yet another heist, brought in both McHale and center Robert Parish (via trade) prior to the Celtics' 1980-81 Champion...
Post a Comment
Read more