HUSTLE BEACH: Gerald Wallace, driving against the Bulls’ Luol Deng on Friday, supplies a host of intangibles that don’t always show up in the boxscore. (AP)
Gerald Wallace rarely has the best line in the Nets’ box score, but a simple look at the stats doesn’t do justice to the contribution the hard-working small forward makes on a daily basis.
“He’s so important,” Deron Williams said. “What he does can’t be seen on stats. His hustle, his energy, his intensity … just doing the little things that nobody else wants to do and the intangibles he brings to this team.”
Wallace’s performance against the Bulls on Friday was typical of what he can do when playing at his best. In 41 minutes — his first game with more than 40 in nearly two months — he finished with six points and 13 rebounds, including five offensive boards, along with two assists and a steal in the Nets’ 93-89 victory.
And it was Wallace’s tip-in off a Deron Williams missed jumper with 31 seconds left that helped to put the Bulls away.
But more importantly, Wallace played the entire second half, as Nets interim coach P.J. Carlesimo went small to match the Bulls — who had starting power forward Carlos Boozer and center Joakim Noah sitting out with injuries, and moved regular starting small forward Luol Deng to power forward.
It was a move that jump-started the Nets, who until that point had been struggling to stay with the Bulls, and yet another example of the kind of versatility Wallace exhibits.
“I just play basketball,” Wallace said. “I’m here to play basketball. You can call it whatever you want, however you see it. My thing is, I just enjoy the game of basketball.
“I go out and play, and whatever my coaches and teammates need me to do to help us win, they know I’ll go out there and do it at 110 percent and give it my all. That’s just the enjoyment of a game that I’ve loved since I was two or three years old.”
That love of the game spills out into the way Wallace approaches his job. He has earned the nickname “Crash” for the way he’s constantly diving into the stands or over the scorer’s table after loose balls, making him a fan favorite wherever he has played.
But that passion also transfers to the locker room, where Wallace won’t hesitate to hold himself and his teammates accountable if they don’t play the way he thinks they should.
Wallace did just that Wednesday night, after the Nets were blown out by the defending champion Heat for the third time this season, saying the effort he and his teammates put forth was unacceptable.
It was the kind of statement not every player can make, but because Wallace picks and chooses his spots — as well as the effort he puts forth every time he takes the floor — his teammates can’t help but listen.
“I’m not a big talker,” he said. “I can emotionally shout and kind of say things to help guys out, but I’m more of a lead-by-example kind of guy. When guys see me giving 110 percent, you don’t have to shout or say much. When you go out there and point something out, guys kind of listen because they know you’re giving the effort and you’re giving 110 percent. It’s not like I have to walk around shouting and kind of being all emotional or a screaming guy.”
But regardless of what he says or when he says it, Wallace is defined by the way he plays, the relentlessness he brings to the court every night.
“When you see him doing what he does, sacrificing his body, making all the big plays,” Brook Lopez said, “you have to follow him.”