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As expected, Rasheed Wallace's left ankle injury is severe enough to where it won't be determined until shortly before tonight's tip-off if he'll play. I asked him how it felt a few minutes ago at their shoot-around. He said it felt about the same as it did Wednesday night following the loss at Boston.

If Wallace doesn't go, that'll all but guarantee we'll see Theo Ratliff on the floor tonight. "Hopefully I'll be able to get out there, get a few minutes in with the guys tonight," Ratliff said. "That would be great."

A more interesting dynamic to keep an eye on is Flip Saunders' rotation, which is starting to look as though it'll fluctuate from one game to the next. The only reserve who seems safe for minutes - for now at least - is Rodney Stuckey. Jarvis Hayes will continue to play, but Juan Dixon might cut into his minutes some. Jason Maxiell's role might start to diminish some with the arrival of Ratliff, and with the steady improvement of Amir Johnson. And as I wrote about today, that doesn't even take into consideration what's going to happen when Lindsey Hunter gets back into the mix.

To appreciate this story, you have to understand that Arron Afflalo is one of the most conscientious players in the league. He's always first to the bus, first to practice and one of the last to leave. But on Friday morning, he missed the memo. Originally the bus for shoot-around was supposed to leave the hotel at 10:45 a.m., but it was changed to 10:30 a.m. and nobody told Arron. Thus, for the first time all year, he missed a bus. So, he found his own way to Madison Square Garden and got to shoot-around on time -- but we couldn't resist tweaking him a little bit. When he got off the elevator, he was met by all three beat writers and a national writer from Washington. We pretended to grill him on being late. "Don't you think it's important to be on time?" Stuff like that. He was mortified, but he caught on pretty quick that we were joking. I am a bad actor. But team security Jerry Hendon is a very good actor.

He pulled Arron aside and told him, "Coach said to just go back to the hotel. He doesn't want you to practice. Just go back." Afflalo looked like he might pass out. "Really?" he said. "Coach Saunders said that?" Jerry started walking him back to the elevator. We just couldn't stand it any more and started to laugh. The relief on Arron's face was precious. Poor kid.

Rasheed Wallace (left ankle) did not participate in shoot-around. He took treatment with Arnie Kander and will be a game-time decision. I would bet against him playing. Saunders wouldn't devulge the active roster this morning, but it's a good bet that Theo Ratliff will be in uniform.