The manner in which John Wall walked away from the scene, after knocking over Marcus Smart with a two-handed blow above the shoulders, he left no question as to his intention.
“Just me getting frustrated,” Wall said, explaining the hard foul that led to his automatic ejection.
On the same night he was fined $25,000 for “inappropriate interaction” with an official from Monday, Wall was kicked out for the second straight game. The consecutive early showers stem from Wall’s growing frustration with the lack of foul calls — a complaint shared by teammate Bradley Beal.
“We are busting our butt and trying to draw fouls,” Beal said. “We get hit a lot but we don’t get calls.”
After the game, Wall stood in front of reporters and answered every question relating to his flash of frustration.
Why did he do it?
Wall presented a litany of interactions, naming Boston guard Avery Bradley as the main culprit.
“My finger’s bleeding the whole game. Got stepped on on purpose. Go the basket a couple times & didn’t get calls and the play before I (fouled Smart) I got smacked right across the face in my ear so I just let my frustration get the best of me,” he said.
Did he speak up to officials?
Wall declined to open the line of communication with any of the three.
“Nope. Not a word. I just keep getting beat up and keep playing basketball,” he explained.
Does he think the flagrant 2 will lead to a suspension?
Well, Wall didn’t exactly answer this one but still wanted to make a point.
“They’ll find time to respect me,” he proclaimed.
Hours after the game, Wall cooled down enough to send out an apologetic tweet.
Just want to take a moment to apologize to my coaches, teammates and fans for losing my cool tonight. The ... https://t.co/Wd5KgQjRqs
— John Wall (@JohnWall) November 10, 2016
For the first seven games, Wall has averaged 6.2 trips to the free throw line while Beal has earned 4.5 foul shots. If both players keep up the pace, the averages would set career highs, respectively. However the numbers do not meet expectations.
Before the game, Coach Scott Brooks noted that “nobody’s against us” but still believed Wall and Beal drive enough to the rim to earn eight to 10 free throws a game. On Wednesday, Beal’s first shot attempt came as he dribbled into the lane. Beal showed early aggression and met Celtics center Tyler Zeller and though the play ended with Beal down on the court, no foul was called.
“My first three or four looks were to the basket,” Beal said. “When you do that you try to put the (game) in ref’s hands. See if he’s going to make a call or not. If they don’t, then just continue to play. We definitely want to get to the line, those are easy points for us but if the ref doesn’t blow the whistle we can’t argue that. We’ve just got to continue to play but it is frustrating at times.”
Dwight Howard was the last player to receive ejections in back-to-back games (Jan. 29 and 31 of this year), and ironically the second early exit happened in a game against the Wizards. Howard, who was with the Houston Rockets at the time, took exception to fouls from former Wizards Nene and Jared Dudley. Later, Howard drew a one-game suspension for “striking the arm of a game official.”
Though a suspension for Wall may not be likely — he did not commit a “punching” foul against Smart, the most common trigger to a one-game ban — he will face a fine.
It will be second consecutive game that has taken a bite out of Wall’s wallet. And for yet another day, Brooks had to direct a general warning about players maintaining their cool.
“We have to keep our composure. You’re up 20 points at that time [and] guys are going to continue to compete. You can’t fault them for continuing to compete,” Brooks said. “It’s a 48-minute game, regardless of the score. That’s what good players and good teams do. You don’t play the score, you play the possession. I think they did that and unfortunately that happened.”