Rasheed Wallace hasn?t been ejected from a game since becoming a Piston.  The question must now be asked whether Rasheed is better or worse for his new, calmer on-court demeanor.  Has he traded in bad behavior for bad basketball?    

It?s a very good thing of course ? actually a prerequisite ? for an NBA player to be in control of his emotions if he wants to reach greatness.  At least when there?s a dead ball and a break in the action.  But a lack of fire can become a major issue when the shot clock is ticking down, the ball is in your hands, and your team needs its go-to guy to get a bucket.  

Shaun Powell of Newsday examines the subject in light of the Nets? second straight victory over Rasheed and the Pistons last night at the Meadowlands.  Jason Kidd turned in a 22 - 11 ? 10 triple double as the Nets tied the best-of-seven playoff series.   Powell cites two sub-par games and gives Rasheed, who is averaging 9 points in the series, a good amount of the blame for his team?s two losses in New Jersey.

It?s Rasheed?s temper that needed to be adjusted, not the energy or the electricity in his game.  Maybe all of it has been sucked away at once.  The concern is that maybe we?re not actually seeing self-control so much as some level of personal resignation.

Compare and contrast the career of Dennis Rodman.  Perhaps one of the strangest players ever and a hard one to judge ? a man whose on-court (and off-court for that matter) actions often bordered on the bizarre.  He lost it every now and then and got booted out of a city or two along the way, but his mental approach to the game, particularly at the end of his career, was effective.  Craziness for sure, but an energy level that gave his team a special performer.  In the meantime, Rodman kept most of his antics in check and away from hurting his team.  Most of all, he played with passion and helped his teams win championships, and that was far better than a guy who ignored the refs and went through the motions.  

It remains to be seen whether the prodigious talents of Rasheed, who does have a sore foot that is bothering him, will ultimately win out during these playoffs and over the course of his new contract starting next season.   Suffice to say that the Pistons (or whichever other team acquires Rasheed next season) will trade in a tantrum here and there for Rasheed Wallace playing basketball at full blast and giving his team one of the best big men in the league.    

In other words, nobody is saying Rasheed should never get another technical foul.  A few would be fine, maybe even a positive thing, if it means you get the Rasheed with all that smooth skill, the Rasheed with the indomitable low-post game, the Rasheed who the only person in the league can stop is Rasheed.  

"I think he'll respond," Pistons coach Larry Brown said after the game. "You don't make the All-Star team and be highly respected as a player unless you recover from bad games."