John Wall, ladies and gentlemen. With the Wizards a couple seconds away from elimination after Al Horford put the Celtics up two with a ridiculous 20-foot bank shot, John Wall stepped into a deep three over primo defender Avery Bradley and NAILED IT. D.C. exploded (in a good way) and Washington’s defense held on the other end. The Wizards won 92-91. Game 7 is Monday.
John Wall did it for the culture
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Here’s Mike Prada on what the moment meant for the Wizards and D.C., which has a bit of sports curse going. You can tell in real time how cathartic that shot was by checking out the fan reactions.
A professional gasbag has been ripping Wall for his lack of impact on the culture or the league in recent days. Shout out to CSN’s Chris Miller for setting the record straight. I’m going to stick with what I wrote back in 2014 on this particular matter.
Bradley Beal was the quiet hero of Game 6. Markieff Morris giving Stephen A. Smith a butt slap in the tunnel after the game is real funny.
The Celtics showed up the Game 6 dressed in all black, mocking the Wizards’ decision to do so against the C’s during the season. (That first incident gave this series the moniker funeral series, which is frankly a little uncomfortable after the tragedy of Isaiah Thomas’s sister.) Anyways, the Celtics wore all black, lost in heartbreaking, and got ridiculed by Wall for their trouble.
Friday night didn’t work out ... but Game 7 is back in Boston and neither team has won on the road this series. Can’t wait.
The WNBA season tips off 3 p.m. ET Saturday on NBA TV as the San Antonio Stars and New York Liberty face off. ESPN has the Seattle Storm and L.A. Sparks at 5 p.m. Here’s our big WNBA preview. I’m excited to see what Kelsey Plum does in the Dub after her performance at U-Dub. Be sure to follow Swish Appeal for WNBA coverage all season long.
Phil Jackson just wants Carmelo Anthony to be happy. Aww!
Tom Haberstroh brings data to bear on the theory that James Harden was exhausted in the Rockets’ series against San Antonio. Zach Lowe shares his final takeaways from the series.
J.J. Redick wants a huge contract this summer. Kristian Winfield writes that he deserves one. I agree! I’d likely to state for the record that I believe Redick will sign with the Brooklyn Nets for like four years, $95 million.
Drew Gooden has had nightmares about not finishing college. So he finished college. Shout out to Drew Gooden. Shout out also to Marcus Camby, who graduated from UMass this week.
LaMarcus Aldridge showed out when the Spurs needed him against the Rockets. But facing the Warriors will be a different sort of challenge.
And finally: Klay Thompson and Zaza Pachulia are the basketball buddies/rivals I never knew I needed.
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