Josh McRoberts vs. The Wall: What Does This Confrontation Mean to The Wizards?
Let's be honest, almost 85 percent of Americans these days hate players that come from Duke University, or what some may call "Dukies."
And right now, I'm pretty sure John Wall isn't too fond of one, that being Josh McRoberts, the forward for the Indiana Pacers.
John Wall is known for being a pretty humble character, and for him to come out aggressively at the opposing player is a little too much, but it's just what the NBA is missing these days.
No matter what anybody says, John Wall made a statement on Wednesday night at the conclusion of the fourth quarter and left everyone in the Verizon Center with one question...
What exactly made John Wall angry enough to get to the boiling point where he got in Josh McRoberts' face?
The Sequence of Events
1 of 4John Wall drove to the hoop.
He kicked the ball out to Nick Young, who hit a three-pointer.
After dishing the ball, he got knocked to the ground by Josh McRoberts.
Wall then stayed on the ground for some time.
He expressed the no-call to the referees.
Ran back down the court to get in McRoberts' face.
Wall has received plenty of bumps to the ground, but obviously thought this one should have definitely been called, which should have.
The amazing thing is that when Wall's teammates tried to hold him back away from McRoberts, Wall was yelling at his teammates to let him go so he can go over to the "Dukie."
After, he gave Wall a few words of his own.
Positive Or Negative For The Wizards?
2 of 4
With so much attention aimed towards Andray Blatche and JaVale McGee's fighting incident and Gilbert Arenas and Javaris Crittenton's suspension, the public eye might see the Wizards as a team full of troublemakers.
This incident was geared more towards a rookie trying to stand up for himself after a dirty hit that should have been a foul.
For all the words that are used to describe Wall's characteristics—such as hard-worker, quick, humble, fast, explosive, respectful—it's time to add a new word to describe him: hard-nosed.
Who would've thought that this "humble, but hungry" rookie would step up to a guy that has been in the league for three years now and has half a foot on him?
Maybe this is the type of leader the Wizards need, because there was never a time where Arenas would step up to someone like that. Wall got a technical foul, as surprisingly the referees didn't eject him in the first place.
I'd take a player getting a technical foul for making a statement—that isn't too aggressive—than a player getting a technical because he was complaining too much to the officials about a call they made.
So the outcome is mostly positive, but a bit negative because Wall did lose his cool.
Josh McRoberts' Comments
3 of 4Don't believe the part where McRoberts claims that he didn't know what happened, because he did.
Great way to avoid the question, Josh.
Conclusion
4 of 4John Wall made a statement.
Nick Young had an excellent scoring night.
The Pacers shot cold all day.
As the confrontation between the two players was the highlight of the night, it was also a new step in John Wall's career. John Wall probably wouldn't come up to a player like Kevin Garnett or Shaq if they were to pull the dirty move like Josh McRoberts did.
John Wall most likely would've gotten beat down by McRoberts, but him doing that on home court added a new energy to the Verizon Center.
Maybe he will go at him again, as the Wizards and Pacers will play each other again today in Indiana as Washington looks to put an end to their 15-game road losing streak to start the season.
