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John Wall backs Xavier Silas

The Wizards' star asked the front office to bring him back to training camp, according to a report. That and more in today's Wake Up Call.

By Ryan Gracia
Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports

1. Wizards in Fort Belvoir, VA

Yesterday, the Wizards held a practice in front of troops and their families that was televised on NBA TV. It was a great chance for us to see what goes on in practice, hear from Randy WIttman and some of the players and, of course, get some national attention in the process.

Here's a few observations from what I saw during the practice:

  • John Wall is loud, confident, comfortable, works his butt off defensively, and makes some incredible passes.
  • Kevin Seraphin loves his hook shots (but we knew that already).
  • Otto Porter is finding his groove offensively. He knows he's not the main guy. He is picking and choosing good spots on the court in order to be that safety valve on the wing when defenses clog the middle or double Wall.
  • Porter also needs to improve his defense. He looks a little shy and uncomfortable. He needs to assert himself and be confident in making the right plays.
  • Wall isn't afraid to talk and call players out when they aren't in the right spots (he did that to Marcin Gortat a few times yesterday).

Some other thoughts from the Twitterverse regarding the practice:

David Aldridge and Dennis Scott were covering the event.

Click here for a video recap of the event, via Monumental Network.

NBA.com has the interviews:

Click here for Randy Wittman

Click here for Wall

Click here for Paul Pierce

Click here for Ted Leonsis

Also, check out an amazing one-on-one interview that Gortat has with himself here.

2. Wall backs Xavier Silas

With depth needed to cover for Bradley Beal's injury, the Wizards have shown that Silas may get first priority to fill that empty roster spot if he continues to play well. This might explain why. Via CSN Washington's J Michael:

John Wall went to the front office, president Ernie Grunfeld to be exact, and told him that he wanted Xavier Silas to come back.

For more on Silas, read Nick's story from yesterday.

3. More Wall/Beal disrespect

Sam Smith is a legendary sportswriter that now posts on the Chicago Bulls' website. He also ranked the NBA's best backcourts yesterday on Bulls.com and felt Wall and Beal were the eight-best backcourt in the League. Yes, eight. Here's why:

"Wall still really doesn’t have an NBA game. Yes, he is very fast and can get to the basket, but his shot is balky and he still has trouble finding shooters in good position or knowing when to shoot or pass. They’d move up if Wall gains a better understanding of playing point guard."

Not sure if he spent all of last season under a rock, but that's the only explanation for that read. He should probably have a chat with Trevor Ariza soon. Ariza should be able to explain how Wall has an unbelievable ability to find shooters in good positions.

In fact, Ariza could probably give him 32 million reasons.

4. Can Seraphin contribute?

The crew over at Wiz of Awes took a deeper look into what could be a breakout season for the big man if he continues to show positive growth in 2014-2015.

5. Wizards sing Happy Birthday to Pierce

Major thanks to Marcin Gortat for recording this video of the team signing/dancing for Pierce on his 37th birthday:

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Happy bday to our legend @paulpierce #time #goes #fast #45yOld #today .... Lol... 37:)

View on Instagram

Plus, check out all the love Pierce got yesterday: