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Super-Overreactionizer: The Wizards, Thunder, Blazers, and Nets should just give up

By HP Basketball Network

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So Happy To Be Here

May 11, 2014; Washington, DC, USA; Washington Wizards point guard John Wall (2) celebrates after scoring a basket against the Indiana Pacers during the first half in game four of the second round of the 2014 NBA Playoffs at Verizon Center. Mandatory Credit: Brad Mills-USA TODAY Sports
May 11, 2014; Washington, DC, USA; Washington Wizards point guard John Wall (2) celebrates after scoring a basket against the Indiana Pacers during the first half in game four of the second round of the 2014 NBA Playoffs at Verizon Center. Mandatory Credit: Brad Mills-USA TODAY Sports /

by Ian Levy (@HickoryHigh)

"“This is the most fun I’ve had being in the NBA, honestly. Usually, I’d be at home on vacation with my family or something. I’m not really thinking about [the pressure]. It’s fun for my first time, because most people get swept or are done in the first round. We had an opportunity to do great and beat a great team in the Chicago Bulls, and now we have an opportunity to still make this a heck of a series.” -John Wall at the Game 4 shootaround, rolling over and exposing his soft underbelly to the Indiana Pacers (h/t Michael Wallace, ESPN)"

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Washington Wizards should sign this former first-round pick to a two-way contract
Washington Wizards should sign this former first-round pick to a two-way contract /

Wiz of Awes

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    • Just hours before his Washington Wizards blew a 19-point second-half lead to the Indiana Pacers, John Wall opened his mouth, revealed the inner-workings of his basketball soul and cost his team this game, this series and their chance at a title.

    Frankly, Wall deserves to have his playoff credentials revoked. Being down 2-1 in a playoff series is, not just fun, but the most fun you’ve had in the NBA? Scoring just 63 points in a playoff game, at home, is fun? The playoffs are not supposed to be fun, there are no prizes for simply showing up and getting knocked around. This is not the NBA’s version of open mic night, it’s a to-the-death marathon of death and destruction. The only reason to smile in the playoffs is to show off the blood and gore and guts and veins in your teeth.

    Wall says he’s not thinking about pressure because he’s having too much fun. That zen mindset might work well if he was opening a vegan burrito shop, but this is the NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION. Championships aren’t won by setting pressure aside, they’re won by taking it by the hand, throwing on some Barry White and making sweet, sweet love to it.

    Wall and the Wizards can’t win a championship this season because they’re just happy to be here. Their championship was played on April 2, when they gave the Boston Celtics a 26-point thrashing and locked down their first playoff berth since 2008. Everything since has been delicious cake-icing, six inches thick. The Wizards have no hunger they have been satiated by angel food and buttercream frosting, having their cake and eating it too. Championship basketball is gritty and joyless and brutal grind of survival. There is a direct line from Wall’s pregame comments to the borderline incredible fact that the Pacers scored more than 19 points in a half of basketball and that the Wizards lost a game that statistical probabilities still gave them a 92.3 percent chance of winning with six minutes left.

    Congratulations on a fantastic season Washington Wizards. Congratulations on development of all sorts and on leaping enormous personal hurdles. Congratulations on five playoff wins and a return to relevance. Enjoy all of those fun memories on your summer vacation.

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