Thinkin' on a Saturday Morning

♦ On Thursday, I wrote that Rasheed Wallace looked gimpy to me and maybe the Detroit Pistons should consider sitting him out longer to recover. Well, 'Sheed looked pretty damn good last night with 17 points, 10 rebounds, and 50% three-point shooting. So how exactly do we explain the differences between his performances on Wednesday and Friday?

1) He needed a game to shake off the rust, loosen up that ankle, and get back into game shape.

2) Drew Gooden and Sideshow Anderson Varejao make a rough match-up for 'Sheed.

3) 'Sheed loves that thin mountain air in Denver. Less oxygen don't lie.

'Sheed couldn't help picking up that 16th technical foul, though (which seems to be the bigger story than the victory over the Nuggets). Oh, well. Give that ankle some more rest.

♦ Does the Detroit Lions' signing of T.J. Duckett tell us more about Kevin Jones' recovery from his Lisfranc fracture than the team is revealing to the public? I like the pick-up, especially since K.J. doesn't quite seem suited to power running. But the Lions' backfield suddenly looks awfully crowded. Maybe there's some truth to those Tatum Bell-to-the-Giants rumors, after all.