Detroit ? Let’s have some fun with numbers, shall we?

Pistons forward Rasheed Wallace, after one night of play, now has two technical fouls to his name. Thirteen more, and he’ll start to earn one-game suspensions for each alternating technical thereafter.

At that rate, he’d earn 164 technical fouls, be thrown out of every game, earn 37 one-game suspensions, and pay thousands of dollars in fines.

Even with Wallace’s track record and the new no-tolerance arguing policy, that’s a bit of a stretch. So say he ties his career-high with 41 technical fouls. That would give him 13 one-game suspensions.

Something’s got to give, and here’s a guess – it won’t be commissioner David Stern.

“It’s a concern,” coach Flip Saunders said. “Players have to adjust.”

Like it or not, the no-nonsense rule seems here to stay. The Pistons weren’t the only team affected Wednesday. Thirteen technical fouls were called across the league, including seven in one game.

But the Pistons are the NBA’s poster-children for showing emotion and speaking their minds. They don’t want to lose that identity completely, not unless they want more nights like the season opener.

Somehow, a balance must be found, and it must start with Wallace.

“I don’t think it’s about modifying his behavior,” Lindsey Hunter said, “I just think it’s about channeling it the right way. He can still be emotional, but be emotional and go up and get a big rebound.”