Thanks in large part to his fantastic
ball skills, Rasheed Wallace can excite and dazzle; but thanks to the so-called
"referees" he can frustrate and confuse. By the time you read this 'Sheed
will have either picked up a technical or dropped 20-10 on someone. Or
both.
Many of today's players have either
lost or never developed the skill of working an official properly. Jordan
was particularly good at it, and not just because everyone quivers in his
presence (even now); after all, he wasn't always the megastar we've known
him to be in recent years. And when he wasn't, he used his charm to make
nice with the men who could make his passage through the league as easy
as possible. It wasn't exactly his greatest achievement, but the result?
A foul given here - a foul not taken there.
Rasheed doesn't suck-up; he doesn't
charm or negotiate with the officials in an attempt to get calls in his
favor. He's a tough power forward who can shoot, pass, rebound, defend,
and perhaps more important to the case at hand, he has a well developed
sense of his own opinion. Before I proceed, let it be known that, judging
by his on-court demeanor, 'Sheed DOES have a high temper; but that's certainly
not reason enough for him to get hit with unnecessary technicals. He's
become a marked man, receiving T's for things that would be ignored if
committed by other players. It's gotten to the point where it seems as
though the refs are actually conspiring to screw him. It's like their eyes
light up when they find out they're going to be officiating a Blazer game
because they just can't wait to signal that dreaded "T" 'Sheed's face.
Last season, in which Rasheed led
the league in technical fouls, the Blazers had to endure a ton of free-throws
and lost possessions. I'm not going to say that 'Sheed wasn't responsible
for those T's, but a significant portion of them were unnecessary and totally
undeserved. Take for example game 1 of the Western conference finals: 'Sheed
gets hit with his 2nd technical which consequently leads to his ejection.
The reason? Staring. STARING. Come on, what's next, a technical for untied
laces?! Give me a break. This past weekend, the Blazers played the Sonics.
And 'Sheed (who was leading the Blazers to a blow-out victory with 16pts.
7 rebs. 3blks. 2asts.) was once again on the receiving end of one of the
officials for a call that - based on the replays shown - should have been
in the Blazers' favor. Instead, the Sonics got possession of the ball.
'Sheed was involved in the whole sequence, and so naturally argued out
his call. The result? Another T for him and an ejection.
It's obvious the refs either hold
grudges against 'Sheed and therefore make false calls in an attempt to
provoke him, or just hate him. It's no longer a coincidence that false
calls happen to be made in plays he's involved in. In my opinion, there
shouldn't be a reason to make false calls against someone based on what
went down a game or two (or season) ago. I know 'Sheed's probably said
some things to the officials that even no hyperbolic website would allow
me to repeat, but does that mean they have to more-or-less screw up his
rise in the league? I don't think so.
Fact is, there's no hating on 'Sheed,
the guy has unbelievable game. I love his game. Every one of his fans loves
his game. The Blazers love his game. Insidehoops loves his game. And why
the hell not?! The guy can flat out play. But, regardless of how you see
it and enjoy watching it, 'Sheed's game at this point is all light and
heat - he lights up his opponent, AND THEN HE GETS HEATED. Is that really
fair? You be the judge.
Portland played Sacramento recently;
a game in which the Kings put forth an uncharacteristic defensive effort
(shout out to Chris for putting together a sick game: 29pts.(13-21 fg's)
6asts. 5rebs. 2blks.) Midway through the 3rd quarter, referee Joey Crawford
(arguably the league's best but occasionally its crankiest) refused to
give 'Sheed a foul he wanted. On the Blazers next possession, Crawford
called 'Sheed for an offensive foul. 'Sheed turned to coach Mike Dunleavy
and yelled, "You talk to him!"
