Warning: what I am about to present to you is one of the more pointless stories of the Wizards' season this year.
After ripping apart the Pacers on Saturday, John Wall was asked how he was able to score on such a good defense. His answer?
We talked about it before the game that their bigs were playing soft. My bigs did a great job setting screens. I came out focused tonight and I was able to knock down shots right away.
What Wall meant -- and it was probably (and should have been) clear to everyone in the Wizards' scrum afterwards -- was that the Pacers' big men were not contesting him heavily coming off pick and rolls. By "playing soft," Wall meant that they did not respect his jump shot, like many teams before and after Wall's recent tear, choosing instead to lay back and prevent Wall from attacking the basket. Wall took what the Pacers gave him and scored 37 points.
Someone, whether a reporter or just a friend, must have relayed Wall's comments to Pacers center Roy Hibbert without the context, because this is what Hibbert said about them:
"[Washington] went out there and they played hard. John Wall was determined to get around our "soft" bigs, I guess," he said. "You have to tip your hat off to those guys. They're changing their season around before they go fishing.
"[Wall] can say what he wants to say. He's entitled to it. He's a good player. We have a chance to compete for a championship. They have a chance to compete for the No.1 pick."
Hibbert responded as if he himself was being called "soft," a pejorative term that would upset any big man. But Wall was not calling Hibbert soft at all. He was saying that Hibbert and the Pacers' other bigs defended the pick and roll soft. This is common NBA lingo for laying back and conceding the jump shot to protect the basket.
Thankfully, the two have come to an understanding:
Just spoke 2 @john_wall n cleared up somethings. Def should have hit him up 1st before opening my mouth pause* . @john_wall is a good dude
— Roy Hibbert (@Hoya2aPacer) April 8, 2013
@hoya2apacer appreciate it big homie..never said Indy has soft bigs just said they play a soft concept in pick and roll...they got good bigs
— John Wall (@John_Wall) April 8, 2013
So that's over.