CHARLOTTE – It was something none of us saw coming – Gerald Wallace catching an alley-oop pass for a dunk?
In 2015?
“That’s vintage,” Boston’s Avery Bradley said of his 32-year-old teammates’ flashback moment.
For Wallace, it was a “baby step” towards getting back to being the player he was prior to having knee surgery last year.
“It’s more like a heat check, just to see where your knee’s at, see how your knee feels,” Wallace said of the dunk. “I think it’s something I can build off to push my knee to get stronger.”
And while Wallace isn’t being counted on to be a major contributor to Boston’s playoff push, that doesn’t mean the veteran wing isn’t ready.
“I’m slowly trying to get my legs back,” he said. “Last time I played, I went down the middle and wanted to jump. I was afraid to explode off my leg. (Monday night), it was just one of those in the moment things. I didn’t want to think about it. I just wanted to play basketball and just try and go get it.”
Boston Celtics
That’s exactly what Wallace did as he scored four points along with five rebounds along with two steals in Boston’s 116-104 win at Charlotte – a city he spent seven seasons in as a player.
Celtics head coach Brad Stevens has been reluctant to play Wallace much this season, something that has not been an issue for either.
But on Monday, Stevens showed no hesitation in going to the veteran.
“At times as a coach you have to go with your gut on some things,” Stevens said. “Gerald Wallace played here for a long time. Last year when we were here, Gerald played great and I just felt like I knew what kind of boost he was going to give us.”
Boston came in having lost five of its previous seven games, so Stevens knew the need to shake things up in some fashion was in order.
In came Wallace.
“We wanted to emphasize playing with a defensive mindset, so it felt like this was a really good night for him to come out and get us going,” Stevens said. “He was great defensively in rotations; he was great on the bench and helping.”
Bradley added, “he made some really, really big plays for us. I’m just excited for him and I’m happy he’s on my team and I have somebody that goes as hard as he does.”
Said Wallace: “I kind of feel like I haven’t played in almost a year. I felt I haven’t played since my surgery last March. Just to get out and slowly see things I’m used to doing, being able to attack, do a move … I still think I’m slow on defense. There’s still some things I can work on.”
But he’s not about to rush the process.
“If I’m not able to perform or do what I’m capable of doing, I’m not going to rush myself,” he said. “I’m not going to go out there playing halfway. I only know how to play one way.”
And that is with great effort, whether it’s keeping a ball alive on the offensive glass, grabbing a rebound in traffic or catching a lob for an alley-oop dunk which Wallace anticipates will be a topic of discussion (and lots of jokes) when they review the video.
There might also be some talk in the review session about Wallace’s lay-up in which he was wide open and could have easily dunked the ball … or so we think.
“I thought about dunking,” Wallace said of the lay-up. “But you know, I’m taking baby steps, one dunk at a time.”