My two favorite descriptions of John Wall:

He’s like a more athletic, less selfish, Derrick Rose. Like LeBron if he hadn’t been made in space and was crossed with Chris Paul.
via Bethlehem Shoals, “Death to America,” 4/12/09

JOHN WALL IS A SHOTGUN-TOTING GYPSY WITH ROCKET SHOES THAT WILL SELL YOUR OWN SOUL TO YOU BEFORE PICKING IT FROM YOUR POCKET!
via Zach Harper, “Ethan, I know John Wall and Kyrie Irving is no John Wall,” 06/30/11

Anyway… basically…

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John Wall is going to make opposing point guards cry next season, whenever that is.

I’m not sure there’s a player I’m more excited about watching, Bismack Biyombo included. Wall’s rookie season may have felt underwhelming, due in part to Blake Griffin’s aerial highway of of destruction and in part to his frustrating battle with injuries. But everything that made us think he had all-world potential when he was in high school and at Kentucky was on display in the pros. He knows he needs to develop with regards to shooting, defense, and taking care of the ball, and I think this could happen very quickly. By the end of next season, I’m pretty sure there won’t be anything he can’t do, save for throwing a baseball. I guess what I’m saying is the difference between rookie and sophomore John Wall may very well be akin to that of sophomore and third-year Derrick Rose. Be afraid.

AP Photo / Nick Wass

Recorded on Thursday (my apologies for the late posting), we start off all pissed off with Colin Cowherd’s ignorant comments about John Wall. Then, we get to Andrea Bargnani and the Raptors, Steve Nash and the Suns, the Joakim Noah/KG thing, Paul Millsap’s awesomeness, the public perception of Kevin Durant, and our weekly features.

It’s just Julian, Wagman, and I this time. John was sick. Get better, John.

Click here to listen to the podcast.

Note: Julian dares to say “schadenfreude” out loud at one point. None of us were sure about the pronunciation.

…and if you missed the Joakim Noah at-home interview with ESPN from back in October, here ya go:

Jim Rogash / Getty Images

John Bennett’s been on the OTN team for a few weeks now, as the host of The Outside The NBA Podcast. This is the first edition of his weekly column The Lookahead, where he’ll preview the games he’s most looking forward to. He just joined Twitter and you should harass him because doesn’t worship Hubie Brown. -Ed.

1. Thursday’s TNT Doubleheader: Boston @ Miami & Lakers @ Denver

Miami looked completely lost in its season opener in Boston. Wade was understandably horrible as he played 3 minutes in the pre-season, and they barely ran an offense. That will not happen this time and while the crowd won’t be as ridiculous as it was in the Garden, it should help the Heat when Boston’s D tries to clamp down.
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Luis M. Alvarez / AP Photo

There were seven games on the schedule last night, but the Knicks and Magic didn’t play because Madison Square Garden is not safe. I’ll start with the one game that came down to the wire:

The Wizards beat the Sixers 116-115 in overtime. It wouldn’t have made it to overtime if not for Cartier Martin (representing the D-League) tying the game with a last-second three-pointer that could easily have been an and-one. John Wall could not have been introduced better in the Wizards’ home opener and proceeded to put up a monster line: 29 points (on 16 shots), 13 assists, a franchise record-tying 9 steals, and, gulp, 8 turnovers. Since there are always fun numbers in overtime games, check out some other stats: Lou Williams started 0-8 but finished with 30 points on 16 shots (15-17 FT!), Elton Brand had a super-efficient 21 and 9, and Jrue Holiday had 14 points and 13 assists. I wanted a second overtime, but I was happy that Wizards fans got this win and EXTREMELY happy for Mr. Martin.
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Chris Graythen / Getty Images

The NBA season is almost here.

First of all, WOOOOO!

Second, um, hello. I come to you with my predictions for the season, along with reasons I’m excited about each and every team that I’ll be watching on League Pass from this week till mid-April. We know how difficult it is to prognosticate in October and that injuries and trades will change everything, but hey, predictions are fun! Feel free to call me out when some of the things I say look hilariously dumb a month or two from now. Here we go:

Eastern Conference

1. Miami: 66-16 (last season: 47-35)

I might actually be selling them short with 66. They’ve got weaknesses (old and slow bench, subpar centers) but their strengths are so strong that they should win most regular season games fairly easily.

I can’t imagine trying to gameplan for them. We’ve seen that it takes a total team defensive effort to limit LeBron and Wade separately. Now, they’re together, with Bosh?! They’re going to punish teams on the break and get to the line a billion times a game. It’s going to be amazing to watch.

Excited about: Finding out if they care about winning 70+, seeing if Spoelstra gets creative with his offense, and discussing LeBron’s on-court brilliance instead of his off-court madness.
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Danny Bollinger/Getty Images

In this episode, we begin with the Raptors and Suns after witnessing their 51-point pre-season blowout. Then, Julian rips into Charlie Villanueva, all of us discuss Michael Beasley’s inconsistency, and we briefly attempt to talk about the Lakers/Barcelona game we barely watched. Eventually we get to the two Wizards pictured above.

We finish off by examining the recent GM survey and playing “Who he play for?” with Wagman.

Runtime is 47:49.

Click here to listen to the podcast.

Recommended links:
Unconventional NBA’s Nick Flynt on Michael Beasley – Part 1 and Part 2
NBA Playbook’s Sebastian Pruiti on Beasley’s inconsistency
Dave McMenamin of ESPN LA – Kobe Bryant: FCB could compete in NBA
NBA.com – 2010-2011 GM Survey: Player Predictions
Jason King of Rivals.com – An old, but great article on John Wall
The Basketball Jones – Gilbert Arenas “Also Still Here” Poster
Kelly Dwyer and Trey Kerby on “Emo Gil.”

…and here’s Luke Babbitt doing the Dougie:

Hat tip: Ben Golliver of Blazersedge

Issac Baldizon/Getty Images

Hey heyyy, it’s the first BfB of 2010. I’m a bit pissed at myself for letting so many days go by without an update here, but at least I’ve been really active on Twitter, right? Right? Hope that’s okay. Anyway, 4 games on the schedule last night. There’s stuff to talk about. Continue Reading

Evan Gole/Getty Images

In yesterday’s recap, I said I “let myself down” by falling asleep and missing 4 hours of NBA action. Well, last night I fell asleep and missed one half of basketball. Just one half. But, ugh, when I was awoken with a phone call at about 1:30 AM and the broadcast was over, I positively hated myself. I stay in to watch basketball, always loving it, always hoping to see something amazing… and last night, although I was in, I was passed the hell out on my couch when amazing happened. Continue Reading