Pistons expect plenty of 'talk' in Rasheed Wallace's return to The Palace with Celtics

AUBURN HILLS -- The Palace of Auburn Hills should a be a noisy place Wednesday, and the fans in the stands won’t be the only ones voicing their thoughts.

Rasheed Wallace is back in town.

Wallace and his Boston Celtics teammates are set to play the Detroit Pistons on Wednesday, and the Pistons expect their former teammate to do a bit of trash talking on the court.

Actually, they expect him to do a lot of trash talking.

“What else would he do?” guard Chucky Atkins said. “He’s a very competitive guy, a very talented guy. He’s a veteran. He’s going to do a lot of talking out there.

“But I don’t think there’s going to be any animosity. These guys on this team, they’ve got a lot of love for him, and I’m sure the feeling’s mutual.”

Wallace is averaging 10.2 points and 4.5 rebounds in 23.5 minutes a game for the Celtics (27-12), who are second only to the Cleveland Cavaliers among Eastern Conference teams.

Wallace comes off the bench for a team that features stars such as Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce and Ray Allen and has fit right in with the Celtics, former teammate Ben Wallace said.

“That’s a great fit for him, especially when you’ve got guys like K.G. and Paul and Ray,” he said. “It takes a lot of the attention off him so he can just go out and do his thing.”

Ben Wallace said it’s easy to guess what Rasheed will do on the court.

“He talks to everybody. That’s his thing,” he said. “He’s going to talk, he’s not going to like calls and he’s going to knock down a couple treys. That’s Rasheed.”

What is unclear is how Pistons fans will react.

“He’s going to get booed, and he’s going to get cheered,” Ben Wallace said. “They’re going to cheer for him for the things he did when he was here, and they’re going to boo him because he left and they wish he was still here.”

Atkins expects a warm welcome.

“He’s a guy who helped them win a championship in 2004,” Atkins said. “I’m sure he’ll receive a lot of love. I hope he does, anyway.

“I think it would be hard to boo a guy who helped you win a championship regardless of what
the situation is.”

No matter what the fans think, it should make for a fun reunion on the court.

“It’ll be good. It will make for some exciting basketball,” a smiling Ben Wallace said, “since he’s one of those guys that hasn’t fouled anybody since he got in the league.”

THE GAME WEDNESDAY is the first of six consecutive home games for the Pistons and marks the halfway point of the season. The Pistons (14-26) are 4 1/2 games behind the Chicago Bulls for eighth place in the Eastern Conference. Detroit hosts Indiana and Portland this weekend before Memphis, Miami and Orlando come to town later this month.

“We still have an opportunity to make a playoff run,” Atkins said. “I think this part of the season is crucial because we have a chance to make up some games by having a lot of home games. We’ve got to take care of business at home.”

CELTICS FORWARD Kevin Garnett (knee) practiced Tuesday and will travel to Detroit for the game, but he is not expected to play against the Pistons.

Richard Hamilton (stomach illness) and Chris Wilcox (back) are probable, while Ben Gordon (strained right groin) and Tayshaun Prince (left knee) will be game-time decisions. Will Bynum (left ankle) is listed as out.