has anyone ever heard about this before? i had no idea.


Don't try this at home. Ben Wallace takes his left wrist in his right hand and squeezes. The wrist shifts, making a soft cracking noise that sends a shiver down an observer's spine.

And that's his good hand.

"That's what happens when I'm shooting free throws," he says, flopping the right hand now -- the one that has been injured for years. "I can shoot 10 straight good ones. On the 11th, it just slips out. I don't know when it's gonna happen."

"And you have to fix it," I ask, "right there on the free-throw line?"

"Yeah."

"You just pop it back in?"

"I just pop it back in."

He shrugs, the way a mechanic shrugs if he needs a new wrench. This is Ben Wallace communicating. Pistons fans' favorite cartoon action hero says almost everything with a deep, laconic voice, but the things he says can jolt you.


Let's get back to the wrist thing. In Orlando, more than a few years back, he says, he needed surgery for carpal tunnel issues. He says he would "come out and shoot five shots and then my hand would go dead."

The surgery, however, cut into some ligaments near his right wrist, he says, thus leaving him with a hand that is sort of like a half-screwed-on bottle cap. The wrong angle, it can come loose.

"I spent one summer going to two or three specialists," Wallace says, "but they all said the same thing: that I pretty much have to get the wrist reconstructed ... surgery, pins inserted. ... I'll wait until my career is over. I'm not getting cut anymore. Not while I'm playing."

So the wrist can pop loose when he dunks, or when he falls on his hands, or when he tries to make the perfect free throw. Thinking about it, he admits, only makes his free throws more unpredictable. He has an awful percentage at the line -- 41.6 for the season -- but who knew that with every shot he has to wonder if his hand is going to flop like a noodle?

"My teammates know about it," he says. "If I shoot an air ball, the first thing they do is look at my hand and they'll be like, 'There it goes.' "

He shrugs again.

"Just one of those things."

Right. And traction is just another way to lie down.

http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060420/SPORTS03/604200511/1051

Very interesting, news to me.

And with a wrist like that, He is one of the best centers in the l;eague

kung-fu grip, bitch.

Thats creepy.

Ben is a beast. Kobe had a mild sprained ankle and had to be carried off by two players, this man dosnt know if his hand is going to be in place from one play to the next since his orlando days and this is the 1st we find out about it? Dudes a beast.

Sounds painful [smilie=arrgh.jpg]

Not being a dick or trying to be funny, but does this also explain why Ben often misses dunks? What I mean by that is the ball tends slip out of his hands or he loses his grip as he goes up, I always thought is it was "small" hands

That's probably part of it. Ben is a fuckin MONSTAH!!!!! HOLY SHIT!!!

He shot 30-odd % FTs when he played for the Bullets.

In other words, Ben Wallace feels no pain, fears nothing. Dude could dislocate his neck if he felt compelled to, then just shake it off after he popped it back into place.

How about the Granny, underhand toss? Looks retarded, but it'll probably help out his hands situation and FT%.

Not being a dick or trying to be funny, but does this also explain why Ben often misses dunks? What I mean by that is the ball tends slip out of his hands or he loses his grip as he goes up, I always thought is it was "small" hands

He does have small hands. I don't think he can palm it (he should for his size).

Palming seems to be as much a matter of fingers as hand size. I'm almost as tall as Ben (if only I were as buff as Ben), and I have pretty big hands. But I have these short and stubby fingers (ring finger ring size of 14-15 for left/right hand) and my pinky just doesn't extend an awful lot. With great difficulty I can palm a basketball, but it isn't easy. I'd never get called for palming the ball like Delfino did when he started, that's for sure!

You know whats funny, if I think about it (and I have a taped game where Ben air balled a FT), he does play with his wrist and it does look a little "floppy" (?) on the let go. That could very well be it

Maybe this is why Ben is wearing that wrist thing the past couple months.

He's probably done it so much he doesn't feel pain anymore.

You know my first thought was this appeared to be an excuse by Ben. I doubt that he would make an excuse and I am sure that his wrist is ganked but still.

So instead of Ben taking some responsibility he instead crackles some bones in his wrist and everyone collectivley goes awhhhh.

My wrist has been killing me in recent days, so after reading this thread, I'm fucking scared now.

I repeat -- Ben shot 30-odd% -before- he broke his wrist, in the NBA and at Virginia Union. So, if he's been shooting 40+% since he broke his wrist, then obviously, breaking his wrist made him better at the line. Right? <laughs>

I keep thinking that Bill Laimbeer would make an ideal FT coach for Ben.

If Ben Wallace had no arms he would be shit. Andrew Bogut on the other hand would not. He is pretty much the most amazing man I have ever seen.

LMAO.

I'd love to see someone make the league with no arms.

That would be the funniest thing I've ever seen.

Knowing the NBA refs, they'd still call a foul the armless dude for palming the ball. I suppose if the armless dude were tall enough, he could be a great shot blocker with his face. And no one is going to posterize the armless dude like he was Shawn Bradley, or else they look like a total fucking shithead. Of course, it'd never happen... the jersey falls off too easily, and the armless dude would violate David Stern's dress code.

Knowing the NBA refs, they'd still call a foul the armless dude for palming the ball. I suppose if the armless dude were tall enough, he could be a great shot blocker with his face. And no one is going to posterize the armless dude like he was Shawn Bradley, or else they look like a total fucking shithead. Of course, it'd never happen... the jersey falls off too easily, and the armless dude would violate David Stern's dress code.

quality reply Mxy.

And I'd like to welcome you back, though I'm sure it's already been done.

He "can shoot 10 straight good ones..."? Amazing that none of those are ever in games. Statistical anomaly.

(I have no idea what anomaly means)

Sheed should teach him how to shoot lefthanded.

Statistical anomaly.

(I have no idea what anomaly means)



It means he is the One

[smilie=matrix.gif]

quality reply Mxy.


Agreed. That last shot at Stern was unexpected and quite good.

Can you imagine if Laimbeer had the same problem?

*shoots airball* *everyone stares at him*

"HEY FUCK YOU!!!@# I GOT A BUSTED FUCKING WRIST ALRIGHT??!@?#?"

"HEY FUCK YOU PURDUE!!!@# I GOT A BUSTED FUCKING WRIST ALRIGHT??!@?#?"
http://img296.imageshack.us/img296/5771/9091playoffspistonslaimbeerpur.jpg

Ben sends up airballs so often now that the fans and announcers don't even bat any eye.

"HEY FUCK YOU PURDUE!!!@# I GOT A BUSTED FUCKING WRIST ALRIGHT??!@?#?"
http://img296.imageshack.us/img296/5771/9091playoffspistonslaimbeerpur.jpg

That there is a suspension now-a-days

^ Ah, the good old days.

Not being a dick or trying to be funny, but does this also explain why Ben often misses dunks? What I mean by that is the ball tends slip out of his hands or he loses his grip as he goes up, I always thought is it was "small" hands

yeah, ben wallace got small hands, thats what i dislike about him :(

Small hands. Danny De Vito has small hands. Could be onto something????

"HEY FUCK YOU PURDUE!!!@# I GOT A BUSTED FUCKING WRIST ALRIGHT??!@?#?"
http://img296.imageshack.us/img296/5771/9091playoffspistonslaimbeerpur.jpg


Still laughing...

You guys are some of the funniest mother fuckers on the internet.

http://www.hoopshype.com/columns/ben_hans.htm


Ben's free throws a risky, wristy proposition
by Dennis Hans / May 25, 2006

Pat Riley For four years I’ve been explaining to Ben Wallace and various coaches and executives with the Detroit Pistons that he can’t get better at the free-throw line merely through countless repetitions of his longstanding, tried-and-failed, all-wrist method. Little did I know that Ben has a chronic injury to his right wrist that makes his flawed delivery even more problematic. It’s a horrid shooting style with a healthy wrist, and it’s even worse given Ben’s condition.

More on that wrist in a minute, but first let’s consider the frightening free-throw facts.

In the regular season, Ben basically matched his career average of .418 by draining free throws (FTs) at a .416 clip. This postseason, through two rounds and 12 games, he’s 10 for 42. That’s .238.

His 0 for 7 in Game 5 vs. Cleveland was instrumental in the Pistons’ two-point loss. His 2 for 6 in Game 6 nearly cost Detroit, who squeaked by with a two-point win. Fortunately, his 0 for 4 in Game 7 was inconsequential, as the Pistons won handily.

My purpose is not to denigrate Big Ben. Prior to the 2004 Finals, I explained how his ability to do a respectable job on Shaq all by his lonesome (with just a little help from his friends) and without getting into foul trouble would enable the rest of the Pistons to play their game and defeat the mighty Lakers. In a 2005 essay I placed Ben tied for third in the 2004-05 MVP competition – and Number One by a landslide when I factored in salary for my “most bang for the buck” award. So I appreciate what he brings to the table.

Still, there is no good excuse for his ineptitude at the line. There are, however, some rather silly explanations.

Here, for example, is Flip Saunders’ analysis, as reported by Chris McCosky in the March 29 Detroit News:

“Saunders said that Wallace's free-throw shooting is baffling because he has decent form on the shots and in practice, he makes 70 and 80 percent of them. ‘My theory is, he plays so hard defensively and he's so intense, his body gets so wound up that when he gets to the free-throw line, he can't get that calmed down. You need to be relaxed to shoot free throws. But he is so intense on the one end, that when he goes on offense, it's like he just stepped out of the weight room.’”

Saunders is wrong about Ben’s form and unaware that most every bricklayer shoots decently in practice, where you take shots in bunches rather than two at a time a couple times a game with an hour or even two days between trips to the line. If you shoot 50 FTs after practice in the space of eight minutes while a flunky retrieves the ball, it’s nearly impossible to sink under 70 percent. Sinking 70 or 80 percent under these ideal, completely unrealistic conditions tells you nothing about how well you’ll perform in games; it provides no carryover for
your next meaningful FTs.

Saunders confusion on this point is common among coaches. A few years ago it led Gregg Popovich to send Bruce Bowen – another fellow whose practice marksmanship at the line didn’t translate to games – to a
psychologist. No breakthrough materialized.

As for the intensity argument, that’s ridiculous. Funny how it didn’t affect Moses Malone, Paul Silas or Dave Cowens, to name three guys who, like Ben, have never been outworked in their lives yet managed to shoot
FTs at least as well as one would suspect judging from the rest of their offensive game. For their careers, Moses finished at .769, Silas at .673 and Cowens at .783.

As for Ben’s form, back in 2002, in an analysis of Ben’s delivery that I sent to Piston coach Rick Carlisle (in which I suggested Ben sue all of his college and pro coaches for non-support), I compared Ben's release to two fine shooters who Ben resembled somewhat in form, but not in substance:

“Whereas Reggie Miller and Doug Christie’s wrist-based release and follow through are the culmination of a simple, unified, rhythmic, whole-body delivery, Ben’s wrist snap is an abrupt, isolated movement largely divorced from his body.”

I also noted that his “unorthodox, minimalist leg action creates a bobble-head effect. Immediately prior to and during his shot, Ben has a hoppy, bouncy leg action that consists of a series of mini-flexes. That is, there is no significant downward bending of his knees, just this succession of mini-flexes. Sometimes he finishes the leg action before he releases the ball. Whether he does or not, the legs are essentially along for the ride, making no discernible contribution to the stroke.”

I first wrote about Ben’s bobblehead effect in an April 2002 essay, “Shaq Passes the Brick to Baron and Big Ben,” where I correctly predicted that Shaq would be a free-throw hero in the 2002 playoffs.

Returning to that troublesome right wrist, Ben recently told Detroit Free Press columnist Mitch Albom that it has bothered him for years, and that surgery during his Orlando Magic years to alleviate his carpal-tunnel condition left him with severed ligaments. Ever since, he has had a trick wrist that can go out on him at any time, just as a trick knee will buckle unexpectedly.

Here’s how he put it to Albom:

"That's what happens when I'm shooting free throws," he says, flopping the right hand now – the one that has been injured for years. "I can shoot 10 straight good ones. On the 11th, it just slips out. I don't know when it's gonna happen."

"And you have to fix it," I ask, "right there on the free-throw line?"

"Yeah."

"You just pop it back in?"

"I just pop it back in."

Ben wasn't making excuses to Albom, just matter-of-factly describing a condition he intends to put up with until his playing days are over, rather than risk missing part or all of a season recuperating from complex reconstructive surgery, the success of which is far from guaranteed.

Here, in my view, is why that injury should not be considered the root of Ben’s FT woes. First of all, he shot .407 and .374 at Virginia Union, which presumably was long before the carpal tunnel was a serious problem. Secondly, even today the wrist slips out only occasionally, and then Ben just pops it back into place and goes about his business. So it’s not like he’s worried that his next shot could be his last. Thirdly, there are so many different ways to be a respectable FT shooter, some of which incorporate the legs and/or the arms to a far greater degree than Ben does with his delivery. For example, Jamaal Wilkes (.759 career shooter) had a distinctive style that resembled a baseball pitcher’s windup; it relied more on the motion of his arms and
legs rather than the snap of his wrist.

Granted, a righthanded shooter can’t avoid using his right wrist to some degree in his shot. But Ben needn’t stick with a FT style that is based solely on the weakest joint in his body. He has a world of options, ranging from tweaking and fine-tuning to a major makeover.

Who knows, somewhere trapped inside that chiseled body there might very well be a fine shooter from the floor and the stripe just dying to get out.