Everything but the great hands

Scottie Pippen said it. So did Dale Davis. Kenny Smith says it still.

'Rasheed Wallace has all the tools to be the games' best'

Almost all of the tools. Rasheed, ya see, has regular sized human hands on his superhuman extendo body.

Now, I am actually of the school that what truly defines greatness is the will to win. But at the highest level of any sport, the invitation to the party requires a certain level of physical gifts. Rasheed certain got an invitation to the damn party. And while some may argue that his greatest shortcoming is his short temper/uneven intensity (I do not disagree), you cannot discount the impact of Sheed's small hands when it comes to his scoring and rebound numbers. His small hands also explain his relative lack of in-game handle for such a highly skilled big.

When Sheed first came to Portland, he was skinny kid who had trouble holding his spot on the block. The Blazers were guard dominated in those days, with Kenny Anderson and J.R. Rider carrying much of the scoring load. Sabas was in the pivot or the high post, and all of that added up to only a handful of looks for Sheed in the post. Worse yet for the young man, it seemed like almost every other time the ball was thrown his way, his defender would bump him and he would cough up the ball. Mychal Thompson, who doing Blazer post game radio at that time, did a little expose on Sheed's tiny hands. His conclusion was that though Sheed could do a lot to strengthen his hands and his overall body, his hands would always limit his ability as either a big time scorer or rebounder.

Well, Mychal knew something. Sheed now longer gets jostled on the block, but receiving the ball against an aggressive double team and rebounding in traffic are two things you will rarely see from him. When he scores big, most often he has taken advantage of the open shots within the offense. Force feeding Sheed does not work well, because you increase the chance that he will have to catch in traffic. We have all seen him lose his grip on the ball when he swings into the lane off the dribble for that 'guess you could call it a hook' shot. But hit him in rhythm on the break or spotting up from 3: Sweet music.

As a fan, I have struggled a bit more with Sheed's rebounding. So long and so quick to the ball. How is it he cannot board with the best? Isn't rebounding about desire. Well, yes. But rebounding has a specific invitation to the greatness party that has to do with hands. Reggie Evans has those hands. So did Larry Smith Rasheed is not invited to this party.

But one of the many things I love about Sheed is how he sticks to what he does well. So he is not a big time rebounder. He is always the best team defender on his squad, covering for the mistakes of perimeter defenders as well as helping in the paint. Only KG compares on defending the pick and role. Rasheed is also great on the box out. He may not grab the board, but he often clear the way for teammates. Like his scoring, his rebounding is situational. He will certainly grab them if they come his way, but he does not chase the ball like the great board men.

Ultimately, Sheed has figured out the limits of his hands, and has built an All-Star level game on both ends of the floor. Compared to the other great power forwards of his time (Tim, KG, CWebb) his number will always pale. And he still lets his temper overwhelm his will to win. He will never be 'The One.' But most night, Sheed excels by letting the game come to him, caring only about the numbers on the score board. Pretty right on, by my account.