Wallace, Bulls facing fallout from headband controversey

The good news for the Bulls is they’ve had a couple of days off to rest after their two-week road trip. The bad news for the Bulls is they’ve had a couple of days off after the Ben Wallace-Scott Skiles headband controversey.

If you haven’t been paying attention, Wallace was benched during last Saturday’s game against the New York Knicks when he took the floor with a headband. The game, a 106-95 Bulls win, gave Chicago a win at the end of a seven game road trip on which they lost the first six games. Chicago followed that up with a 102-85 win over the woeful Knickerbockers on Tuesday at the United Center for a two-game winning streak But nobody wanted to talk about that.

Wallace likes to wear headbands but Skiles has a team rule prohibiting them. Skiles pulled Wallace two minutes into the game and sat Wallace at the start of the second half as punishment.

AP writer Jim Litke said Skiles has to be at least as angry with Wallace because of his play. After signing a $60 million contract with the Bulls, the best rebounder in the league has been struggling. Reportedly, he misses his buddies in Detroit. In 14 games, Wallace is averaging 5.6 points and 9.4 rebounds per game.
The bottom line was a 25-minute team meeting after a badly-needed victory.

Wallace followed up the controversey with an eight-point, 12-rebound game on Tuesday. Next up for Chicago is a Friday night game at Oklahoma City. Waiting their is Tyson Chandler, the former Bulls center whom Wallace was signed to replace. Chandler is averaging a career-high 11.9 rebounds per game. Ironic, as Chandler was considered a bit soft in the middle and Wallace was supposed to be an upgrade. It should prove to be an interesting night.

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