John Wall hit the big shot in Game 6 to beat the Boston Celtics. He singlehandedly kept the Washington Wizards’ season alive. He’s been one of the best point guards in the NBA this season.
Wall’s loudest critic, FS1 talking head Colin Cowherd, still doesn’t think that’s enough. Cowherd said on his radio show this week that Wall did not have star power and that nobody cares about the Wizards.
If you’ll remember, Cowherd has made comments about Wall since his rookie season, comments about Wall’s father that many would say were racially charged.
Meanwhile, his latest criticism was a transparent play for ratings in D.C., a rip from Page 1 of the sports jockey playbook.
When Cowherd criticized Wall yet again, that didn’t sit right with CSN Mid-Atlantic reporter Chris Miller.
Miller, the Wizards beat reporter for CSN, spoke for about a minute pregame to criticize Cowherd’s latest play for ratings in the nation’s capital.
Transcript of the video above via Washington Post:
“It’s a little personal to me because I’ve seen this kid since Day 1, and I’ve seen all this hate and vitriol that goes his way, and all he does is go out and play. Here’s the one reason why I think Colin Cowherd has missed it since Day 1: Go ask his teammates what John Wall is all about.
Why don’t you go ask those kids in Southeast D.C. that John Wall has put hundreds of thousands of dollars into supporting their schools so they can get a better education. Go ask them about John Wall. And maybe more importantly, go ask the teammates that are no longer here that are enjoying big-time contracts because they played for somebody that wasn’t selfish and got their teammates involved.
He gets players paid because he cares, and for Colin Cowherd since Day 1 — since John Wall did the Dougie in his season-opening Game 1 — to continue this narrative is stupid, because you don’t have nothing else to say. And until you’re in that locker room and until you talk to John Wall and the people around him, just save that narrative for another day. I’m tired of it.”
Will this get Cowherd to stop talking about John Wall? Unlikely, especially if the Wizards lose to the Celtics in Game 7 on Monday. This story has generated some significant pull, which is all Cowherd was gunning for anyway.
Meanwhile, Wall and the Wizards remain one of the most interesting if not frustrating teams of the 2017 NBA playoffs. And, according to Deadline, Wall’s Game 6 performance boosted ESPN viewership 21% over the Cleveland Cavaliers’ Game 4 win over the Toronto Raptors from a week before.