Big Ben set for return to The Palace
(AP)Updated: 2007-02-25 09:24
A "DONG" reverberated at The Palace and the crowd screamed when Ben Wallace
was introduced or blocked a shot. The sights and sounds will likely be different
Sunday.
Wallace will be playing for the Chicago Bulls against the
Detroit Pistons, facing his old team in suburban Detroit for the first time in
front of fans that adored him for six seasons.
 Ben Wallace (3) tries to get past Cleveland Cavaliers' Donyell Marshall (24) in the first quarter in an NBA basketball game, Thursday, Feb. 22, 2007, in Cleveland. [AP]  |
Wallace expects to get a little emotional during his return, but joked that only an apathetic crowd would disappoint him.
"I might get a little teary-eyed if they don't do nothing," he said.
He probably doesn't have to worry about that.
Wallace's popularity in Michigan after he was acquired in a sign-and-trade deal for Grant Hill was rivaled in recent years only by Steve Yzerman of the Red Wings.
The four-time NBA Defensive Player of the Year had a game that resonated in the blue-collar town he called home from the 2000-01 season until last summer. He helped Detroit win a title in 2004 and become the first franchise since the Michael Jordan-led Bulls of the early 1990s to play in four straight conference championships.
Detroit was willing to make Wallace the highest-paid player in team history. But its offer fell about $10 million short of the Bulls' deal that pays him $16 million this season and $60 million over four years.
Pistons president of basketball operations Joe Dumars said Wallace "will always have a special place with me.
"Ben embodied everything we stood for and I will be forever grateful to him," Dumars told The Associated Press on Saturday. "I expect the Palace crowd to give him a big-time ovation."
Detroit point guard Chauncey Billups said if he was a fan, he wouldn't boo Wallace.
"I'd give him a standing ovation for everything he's done for this city," Billups said. "He brought them a championship and he was the face of this franchise. You can't even second-guess what he did because he did it for his family. It wasn't about rejecting the Pistons, it was about his family."
Wallace helped the Bulls beat Detroit 106-89 on Jan. 6 in Chicago and acknowledged that it wasn't just another game.
"It felt a little strange," he said after scoring 12 points, grabbing 14 rebounds and blocking six shots.
After losing Wallace in free agency, Detroit quickly signed free agent Nazr Mohammed. That move hasn't worked out well, but the Pistons made up for it by acquiring Chris Webber last month after he was released by Philadelphia.
Webber has helped Detroit (35-19) win 10 of its last 11 games to grab both the best record in the Eastern Conference and a 4 1/2-game lead over third-place Chicago in the Central Division.
Wallace is having his worst season statistically — averaging 6.3 points, 10.5 rebounds and 2.2 blocks — since he was with Orlando in the 1999-2000 season. But he averaged 11 points, 15.5 rebounds and six blocks in his previous two games reminiscent of his last one at The Palace.
Wallace lifted the Pistons to a 91-78 win over the Miami Heat in Game 5 of the conference finals on May 31. He had three blocks — including one that put Shaquille O'Neal on his back — and eight points, including a key three-point play.
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