Rasheed Wallace Returns Just in Time to Get Suspended

Rasheed Wallace returned to action Tuesday night after missing 11 games with a calf injury. First, the good news: he looked just like his old self, nailing a trio of three-points and grabbing nine boards in 26 minutes off the bench.

And now, the bad news: he looked just like his old self, arguing with officials until being whistled for his 16th technical foul of the season, earning him an automatic one-game suspension.

Assuming the league doesn't bail Wallace out by rescinding any of his previous techs (like they did back in February), he'll will be forced to sit out tonight's game in New Jersey. He'll be suspended another game for every other technical foul that he accrues the rest of the season.

Why was Wallace so angry in the first place? Because LeBron James was getting "stupid-star" calls at the expense of Tayshaun Prince near the end of the third quarter. From MLive's A. Sherrod Blakely:

"Tayshaun was already there, and he (James) charged him," Wallace said. "Y'all know it's stupid-star calls, too."

Wallace also was upset James was not whistled for any fouls despite playing a game-high 41 minutes.

"In a game like that, huh?" Wallace said. "Y'all know what it is. I ain't even got to say that (bleep)."

As far as missing tonight's game, Wallace said "that's what happens when you speak the truth."

All in all, Tuesday was a disaster for those cheering the men in blue -- between losing to the Cavs, losing Wallace to suspension, Allen Iverson griping in the locker room and the Bobcats moving to within two games of stealing Detroit's playoff spot with a startling upset over the Lakers, just about everything that could go wrong did.