http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/ar ... 20356/1127
Richard Hamilton gave Rasheed Wallace a taste of his own medicine after practice Tuesday. As reporters crowded around Wallace to inquire about his sore left ankle, Hamilton unleashed a most Wallace-like verbal attack. "You asking him about his fake injury," Hamilton said. "He ain't hurt. You saw him dancing before the game (Sunday). You saw him dancing in that circle. He ain't hurt." Technically, Wallace is not "injured" -- there is no structural damage to the ankle. But it is sore enough he has missed the last two games and is questionable tonight against the 76ers. "It's so-so," Wallace said. "It'll be a game-timer (as to whether he plays). Who knows?" Since little is at stake, the Pistons are going to allow Wallace to take all the time he requires. "He just did some shooting today, nothing else," Pistons coach Flip Saunders said of Wallace's participation in practice. "We are just going to wait and see how he feels." Wallace stayed after for about 30 minutes doing conditioning and shooting drills with physical therapist Arnie Kander. He had good lift on his jump shots and was landing on both feet -- which are good signs. "Yeah, I am still limited," Wallace said. "That mobility, that instant burst of speed (isn't there). If we come down and turn it over and I have to run back on defense, that burst isn't there."
First-round preview: If the playoffs started today, the resurgent 76ers would be the seventh seed and the Pistons' first-round opponent. "Mo (Cheeks , 76ers coach) has them playing well," said Wallace, Philly born and raised. "They are a playoff team right now, and I know they are doing what they need to do to try and get out of that seventh spot (to avoid the Pistons)." Chauncey Billups said the Pistons weren't approaching the game like a playoff preview but still held the 76ers in high regard. "They playing good, man, and they are tough to play because they have so many athletes and they have who I think is a great point guard in Andre (Miller )," Billups said. "He gets everybody the ball, and he scores -- he's one of the most underrated point guards in the league." The 76ers are playing an almost Western Conference up-tempo style. "They are going small and have really uptempo'd their game defensively," Saunders said. "They are using a lot of full-court pressure and trying to create offense out of their defense. If you turn the ball over, you will have a lot of problems."
Sample time: Saunders said he plans to use the remaining games to experiment and tinker with his team. "We are going to look at different combinations (of players) and work on different ways to handle pick-and-roll situations," he said. "We haven't played much small-ball this season, and there might be times when we want to do that."