After all, he was already 22 years old, a man growing into maturity, unlike Kobe and Little O'Neal, who still looked quite immature.
He was very diligent on defense, quick to make a move, with a strong desire for rebounds, very much like Dennis Rodman in that regard.
Wallace's statistical contributions were practically negligible; he could manage 1 point per game, a few rebounds, and occasionally a block or a steal, and that was it.
But Bird knew that playing against a team like the Jazz, you couldn't just focus on stats; you needed results, needed on-court influence.
Little O'Neal had more talent, but against the Jazz, a rougher, more practical, and previously unseen young player might be a better choice.
The Jazz team didn't pay attention to Wallace; of course, all their focus was on Ah Gan, with Karl Malone returning to the game.
When Gan Guoyang came back, he received the ball at the elbow, faced Ostertag, and directly took a mid-range jump shot, scoring.
