KIDS THESE DAYS: Knicks forward Rasheed Wallace, still getting in practice shape, said he was motivated to return to the NBA by young players’ lack of post skills. (Neil Miller)
Rasheed Wallace, the newest member of the Knicks, still is not certain when he will practice, much less play. But he says the veteran-laden team is every bit as good as the Celtics or even the defending NBA champion Heat, and if healthy it will prove it.
“We’re already there,’’ said Wallace, who admittedly did not watch much NBA in his two year-retirement. “The only thing that held this team back last year was injuries. If you look at all the injuries they had throughout the season, I don’t think at any point you have the whole team healthy except probably in the beginning.’’
He addressed the media yesterday for the first time since his initial introduction a week ago. He said he returned to the NBA for passion, not a paycheck, and to show the young generation what old-school post play is supposed to look like.
In an effort to spare Wallace, 38, the Knicks’ training staff has not let him practice, focusing first on getting the power forward in shape with director of training and conditioning David Hancock. In recent workouts, Wallace was sparring or doing boxing-inspired drills; yesterday he worked on his core and his back, and stood on one leg tapping the ball against the wall to improve balance.
“He’s still in the conditioning mode,” said coach Mike Woodson. “We’re still holding him out until we feel like he’s ready to go. It’s a day-to-day thing, and we’ll see where he is, evaluate him day by day.’’
Wallace said he felt fine and would be ready when called upon.
“I’m good,’’ Wallace said. “It’s not up to me. It’s up to Coach Woodson. He’ll get me out there when he wants me out there. I’m not one to complain. If it’s not until mid-November, then it’s mid-November. If it’s December, it’s December. It’s on him, not me. He’s the coach. I just got to be ready, that’s all.’’
Wallace — who won the NBA title with the Pistons in 2004 when Woodson was an assistant coach — did not hesitate when asked why he came back.
“Passion, just sitting watching the way some of the guys you call great post players not playing in the post,’’ Wallace said. “It’s the passion to come back and show y’all how post players really need to play — old-school basketball. Y’all are used to all this new, young stuff, high-flying and dunking. That’s not basketball. Terrible footwork by a lot of young guys out here. Let’s go back to old-school basics.’’
Woodson’s devotion to the fundamentals resonates with Wallace.
“Mike definitely has an old-school demeanor — he played in this league himself and he knows what it takes to win,’’ Wallace said. “We were together in Detroit, and I liked his whole demeanor and coaching style then with Coach [Larry] Brown. Now here he is captain of his own ship, and I’m just trying to be one of his shipmates.’’
The lack of passion and hunger Wallace perceived in many of younger players turned him off the NBA during his retirement, so he watched college basketball instead.
“I turned from the BS that they show, with a whole lot of the stuff that’s going on out here,’’ he said. “I was more interested in college. To me it seemed in college ball, guys are more hungry. It’s for a different circumstance when you’re talking about playing for money and playing for heart.“Not saying that guys in the NBA don’t play for heart, but once you get that money, you’re under a different mindset. But when you’re trying to get there and get on this level, you’re more hungry.’’