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On a team with the best depth in the NBA, Rasheed Wallace may have shown he belongs in the starting five -- for good
The center-forward can be an explosive scorer, as he showed in Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals against the San Antonio Spurs, when he scored 28 points in the Blazers' loss.
At 6-foot-11, he's also an intimidating defensive presence, especially alongside Brian Grant and Arvydas Sabonis on the Blazers' front line.
Wallace is one of the best-shooting big men in the league, too. His field-goal percentage this season was .508, ranking him sixth in the NBA, and he has a career shooting percentage of .525 during his four years in the league.
Wallace has started every game so far from the Blazers during the playoffs, but he was used more as a sub during the regular season, seeing only 18 starts in the 49 games he played. He's proven more effective as a starter, averaging almost three more points a game during the regular season when he's on the floor at the opening tip.
And, with 14 points and more than five rebounds a game as a starter in the playoffs, Wallace may find himself stuck as a starter.
Even on a team as deep and talented as the Blazers.
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Rasheed Wallace's 12.8 points and 4.9 rebounds per game helped the Blazers return to the conference finals for the first time since 1992.