I went into some detail about Eddie House's recent shooting slump over the past six games and in the midst of writing it and sorting through all of the stats, I realized Rasheed Wallace is also suffering through some tough times from beyond the arc. I knew Wallace was missing quite a few shots from distance lately, but I failed to realize just how many. Unfortunately, his numbers are even uglier than House's.
Over the past six games, the Celtics have shot 93 three-pointers, which equates to 15.5 per game. Over that same stretch, Wallace has shot 31 of those 93 threes, good for 5.16 per game. So over the course of the Celtics' most recent 3-3 stretch, exactly one third (33.3 percent) of the Celtics' three-point shots have come from Rasheed Wallace. Now, this wouldn't necessarily be a problem if 'Sheed was shooting at a decent clip. Unfortunately, of the 31 threes 'Sheed has taken, he's made only five of them, which measures out to 16.1 percent.
Now, there are slumps and then there are slumps. I deem this as the latter of the two. Rasheed Wallace is the current capital of Brick City, but it doesn't seem to be bothering much of anyone. In fact, I'm not even sure Doc Rivers and the coaches have noticed. If they didn't tell him to stop shooting so many threes after he went 2-7 against Minnesota, 0-6 against Phoenix, 0-4 against New Jersey and 2-7 against Utah in four straight games, they aren't ever going to.
The threes 'Sheed is taking are not necessarily bad shots. He's a three-point shooter, it's what he does. Even the Pete Maraviches and Reggie Millers and Ray Allens of the world go through slumps, but like I said before, this is a slump. So what does 'Sheed need to do? Does he just keep bombing away until he shoots his own way out of it? Does he need to park himself down low in an attempt to establish some sort of rhythm before eventually working his way back out to the perimeter? Does he just "need to see the ball go in the hoop?" I'm not a big believer in this opinion, but television analysts throw it out there like candy at a parade.
If the last option is somehow the answer, maybe 'Sheed needs to get himself to the free throw line a little bit more often. Over the past six games, Wallace has shot just five free throws. 31 threes and only five free throws the past six games? That's a 6-1 three-pointer to free throw ratio. You'd figure 'Sheed would have been fouled shooting a three by now. Nope. But at this rate, surely it's only a matter of time.
'Sheed's a career .342 shooter from three-point nation, so odds are relief is on the way (probably in the form of a dozen more three-point attempts). He's currently shooting a .313 clip for the entire season, which, if the season ended today, would be his lowest average since the 2004-2005 season. But the good news is, the season doesn't end today. It just started a few weeks ago, which means 'Sheed has plenty of time to figure this all out.
That's the beauty of slumps and mistakes and perplexing two-game losing streaks three weeks into the season. We've got nothing but time to sort it all out. Better now then say, in the playoffs, as was the case with Ray Allen two years ago. I'd rather sacrifice a few potentially (I stress this word) meaningless regular season games then a possible playoff series against a legitimate opponent. Wouldn't you?