Where John Wall Is The Fastest Player In The NBA (Day 8)

Holy Smokes! John Wall is FAST! And I mean real fast. They say that he can run faster with the ball than most NBA players can run without the ball. And that's not just an expression. He Literally can. Tonight, he led the Wizards in their home opener against the Sixers, 116-115, in overtime. He scored 29 points on 9-16 shooting, 11-14 free throws, with 2 boards, 13 assists, and 9 steals. Wow. He committed 8 turnovers, however, but I'm pretty sure Wall owners won't be too bitter. For the Sixers, Elton Brand continued his scorching hot start to the tune of 21 points on 9-11 shooting, 3-4 free throws, with 9 boards, 3 assists, 4 steals and a block, Jrue Holiday posted a double-double (14, 3 and 13, on 6-11 shooting), and Lou Williams came off the bench to score 30 points on 6-16 shooting, 3-7 treys, 15-17 free throws.

The Lakers absolutely destroyed the Grizzlies, 124-105. (They were up by 27 at the half.) Pau Gasol (21, 13 and 5, on 9-16 shooting, 3-3 free throws), Kobe Bryant (23, 5 and 1, on 7-13 shooting, 3-5 treys), and Lamar Odom (17, 8 and 6, on 6-7 shooting, 3-4 treys, 2-2 free throws) were the usual suspects, and for Memphis, Rudy Gay (30 points on 12-18 shooting, 3-3 treys, 3-3 free throws, with 4 boards, 3 assists, a steal and a block) and Mike Conley (16, 5 and 8, on 6-11 shooting, with 3 treys and 3 steals) each posted yet another solid line. Due to the blowout, Matt Barnes got a bit of run off the bench and produced 16 points and 14 rebounds with 2 assists, a steal and a block.

The Lakers aren't the only team that's demolishing opponent after opponent. The Miami Heat manhandled the Wolves tonight, 129-97. LeBron James started slow but finished strong with 20 points and 12 assists on 7-12 shooting, with 2 steals and a block with only 1 turnover. Dwyane Wade led all scorers with 26 points on 12-17 shooting, and Chris Bosh (13, 6 and 2) was just average. It looks as though LeBron is the main facilitator of the Miami offense, Wade the primary scorer and Bosh the third wheel. For the Wolves, Kevin Love scored 20 points on 7-11 shooting, 1-2 treys, 5-5 free throws, with 6 boards, an assist and a block.

The Boston Celtics also continued their dominance by beating the Pistons, 109-86. Kevin Garnett (22 points on 9-12 shooting, 4-4 free throws, with 6 boards, 2 assists, a steal and 2 blocks) was brilliant, Rajon Rondo (9 points, but 3 boards, 17 assists, 4 steals and no turnover) was running amok, and Paul Pierce (21, 5 and 3, on 8-13 shooting, 3-7 treys, 2-2 free throws) and Ray Allen (16, 4 and 3, on 6-14 shooting, 2-7 treys, 2-2 free throws) were scoring easily and efficiently. When Boston is clicking on all cylinders, they are one tough team to beat.

And finally, the last undefeated team of the East, the Atlanta Hawks, continued their win streak by beating the Cavs, 100-88. Marvin Williams (22, 4 and 2, on 8-12 shooting 5-6 free throws), Al Horford (16, 12 and 4, on 7-13 shooting, 2-2 free throws, with no turnovers), Mike Bibby (15 points, on 6-10 shooting, no turnovers), Joe Johnson (15, 6 and 9, with a trey, a steal and a block), and Jamal Crawford (16, 2 and 2, on 4-7 shooting, 2-2 treys, 6-6 free throws) all scored in double figures, and Josh Smith (6 points, 11 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals, and 5 blocks, with no turnovers) stuffed the supporting stats. For the Cavs, it was all J.J. Hickson (a career-high 31 points on 11-17 shooting, 9-11 free throws), and no one else.