"Flip Saunders doesn't need to hear much about Rasheed Wallace to understand the dilemma surrounding his former player on his new team.

"Oh, he can make you go crazy," the Wizards coach, who had Wallace in Detroit, said before his team beat the Celtics, 106-96, last night. "But there are also times that you'll love him when he plays and does what he does.

"The one thing that some people don't understand when they start talking about him is that he is an excellent teammate," Saunders added. "He doesn't like to be the main guy. He'd rather be the second or third, but he also has the ability to dominate games. But when a player has been in the league for 10 years, you know what you're getting."

Coaches simply have to alter their approach when dealing with the 7-footer.

"You can talk to him," Saunders said. "But he has a certain way of doing things that you just have to accept."

Besides, the long-term goal remains the same with Wallace.

"They got him for his ability to play in big games and the playoffs," said Saunders, who won't receive any argument from Doc Rivers."