Yes, I owe an apology to Mr. Big Ben Wallace, the gong inducing, rebound row t-shirt dispensing, big man that the Pistons re-signed this offseason that I so quickly wrote off as deteriorated, over-the-hill, and nonfunctional.
After being able to watch the man play tonight for the first time this preseason, I noticed a Big Ben that was eerily familiar to the Big Ben I grew to love in a non-creepy way for the six years he donned the red, white, and Pistons blue. The same Ben Wallace that was Defensive Player of the Year for four of those seasons.
To my pleasant surprise, he looked healthy, as active as ever, and was the biggest difference maker on the now youthful Pistons team tonight. In the first quarter, his stats were as the picture above indicate. He finished the game with another block and 9 more rebounds (14 rebounds for those who have trouble with math). What was worth more to me than the stat line though was the fact that he forced other turnovers, took a charge, and pressured the Bucks into taking plenty of bad shots. He was the real deal, he was the Big Ben of old, not the old, graying Big Ben.
As if I needed any more convincing that I was in the wrong with my original notions when the Pistons re-signed him, he went ahead and made half his free throws and even airmailed one for good measure.
That’s right Pistons fans, Big Ben is back, and I’m sorry for being such a negative nincompoop about it.
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