Wallace Is Blazing a Trail of His Own

Forget the matchups, who can guard whom in the post and all that other stuff.

The Western Conference finals could very well come down to Rasheed Wallace vs. the officials, and Wallace and the Portland Trail Blazers just lost round one.

Wallace’s temper and his reputation cost the Trail Blazers their best player Saturday, and it could cost them the series if he doesn’t calm down.

When Portland players start talking about how “We’ll be more conscious of the way we look at the refs,” as their key between-game adjustment (as Brian Grant did), it’s a good sign that they are straying from what needs to be their focus.

That’s your series at a glance--and one glance was all it took for Wallace on Saturday.

Ron Garretson, who stands 5 feet 9 if that, did more to stop Portland’s Wallace than A.C. Green or Robert Horry could do combined.

Wallace was far superior to everyone in a gold jersey who tried to guard him. He just can’t handle the gray jerseys, like the officials’ uniform worn by Garretson.

Garretson called two technical fouls on Wallace, the second coming after Wallace did nothing more than glare at him midway through the third quarter. It sent Wallace to the locker room with an automatic ejection.

Maybe if the Trail Blazers had Wallace they would have made a better run at the Lakers and wouldn’t have to subject everyone to that procession of fouls on Shaquille O’Neal in the fourth quarter.

Maybe they wouldn’t have lost, 109-94.

Maybe Wallace’s penchant for drawing technical fouls--he had 38 during the season and has seven in 10 playoff games--is more serious than we thought.

When it starts costing him time in playoff games and hurting his team in its biggest game to date, it goes beyond a knock or bad rap.

“We cannot have an all-star sitting in the locker room with the game under 10 points with five minutes to go,” Portland Coach Mike Dunleavy said. “It’s important for us to have him on the floor. At some point in time he has got to understand that, no matter what the circumstances are, even if he’s right and it’s a bad call, that doesn’t do us any good because he’s in the locker room and we’re out on the floor.”

Wallace had scored 11 points in 16 minutes, but he also developed a feud with Garretson.

Wallace received his first technical from Garretson while sitting on the sidelines in the first half.

He started asking for his second technical when he glared at the Garretson after Wallace was fouled on a dunk in the third quarter.

Normally, the time to express your displeasure with the officials is not when you’re headed to the free-throw line with a chance for a three-point play.

But he stared down Garretson, who began warning Wallace not to try to intimidate him.

So the technical came a minute later, at the 6:43 mark of the third quarter, after Scottie Pippen was fouled on a drive to the basket.

And, apparently, Wallace looked at Garretson in the wrong tone of voice.

Now, the NBA rule book gives a lot of leeway as to what constitutes a technical.

“Cursing or blaspheming an official shall not be considered the only cause for imposing technical fouls,” it reads. “Running tirades, continuous criticism or griping may be sufficient cause to assess a technical.”

Sometimes showing up an official by slamming the ball to the ground or the wild gyrations Wallace made on the ground in Game 1 of the Utah series will earn a technical.

But staring?

“A technical foul is for unsportsmanlike conduct,” said NBA director of officiating Ed T. Rush, who attended Saturday’s game. “We don’t have a checklist. It’s the feel of the official and the situation and how he responds to the situation.”

Garretson blew it. You don’t kick a key player out of a playoff game because of the way he’s staring. Save that stuff for the back seat of the car on the family vacation. (Mommy, Rasheed’s staring at me again.)

But it’s no secret that NBA referees call--or don’t call--plays on reputation as much as anything else. That’s why a guy like Travis Knight can’t even walk to the scorer’s table without being whistled for a foul.

With Dennis Rodman out of the league, no one has a worse reputation with referees than Wallace.

The Trail Blazers say it’s unfair.

“We don’t think a lot of times it’s Rasheed’s fault,” Pippen said. “He’s an all-star player, he’s earned the right to voice his opinion.

“When he talks, he talks with a different [level] of aggression than the average person. So you have to accept him for what he is.”

Most players around the league love Wallace’s game. They are in awe of his leaping ability and his long arms. They know his baseline jump shot is the best and most reliable shot in all of Portland’s extensive repertoire.

Teammates talk about what a good guy he is, and Wallace’s good nature was on display even after the game.

“Hey, next time brush your teeth before you talk,” he teased Bonzi Wells while Wells was conducting an interview.

Wallace had the biggest smile in the room. He didn’t have much to say to the media, other than to express some bewilderment that he could be ejected for looking at the official the “same way I’m looking at you now.”

He needs to look at nothing more than the mirror and the basket, or else he’ll looking at the playoffs on TV after and during this series.

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J.A. Adande can be reached at his e-mail address: j.a.adande@latimes.com.