Bill Walton is an idiot, and Jon Barry knows what he's talking about

Bill Walton is great at his job. He may be prone to exaggeration, but I really enjoy listening to him call games. I haven't heard the Walton/Barry team, but definitely looking forward to it.

 

Bill Walton's tranformation from a Yao enthusiast to a Yao antagonist fascinates me.

 

dude lighten up i used to be just like u and think walton was an idiot than i realized hes just trying to have fun and entertain us he doesnt believe half the things he says

 

And to further add to that confusion, Greg Anthony just casually mentioned the Rockets along with Dallas and San Antonio as the 'Big Dogs' when discussing how competitive the conference is.

 

Walton is and always has been a gigantic douchebag.

 

LOL ... but to be fair to Anthony, he was more like a bandwagoner when he said that -- which is kind of expected, since the Rockets are not doing too shabby lately. Walton, however, seems to be in a different mode. You'd think he stays somewhat positive (i.e., sans outlandish praises) about the Rockets big man, considering how much Yao has progressed since the All-Star break last season and the many initial doubters he has won over. I am not into conspiracy but Walton's dramatic turnaround deserves some speculations.

Maybe Walton is just a drama queen.

 

Dude! Nice fine. Talk about classic Bill Walton. This vid is a snapshot of how he comes across to many people. As its been suggested by other posters, I suppose the trick is to not take him seriously; I know he himself doesn't . For some reason, I get the feeling he's channeling Christopher Walken's penchant for the nonsensical.

 

I think he's just a rebel. He seemed to be the lone voice in the national landscape to praise Yao's development and character as a player when everyone else bashed him. Now that everyone is starting to realize how good Yao is and some are quick to proclaim him as the next big thing, Walton seems to be saying, "Whoa! Hold up one second, not so fast! Shaq is still around and he just got done winning his fourth championship ring."

In other words, I think Walton just enjoys going against the tide, and I also think he's big on 'paying your dues' in the league before you're anointed as the "next MJ" or the "next Shaq/Olajuwon/Kareem/etc".

That's just his style, I honestly don't think he's 'hating' on Yao at all. He's just telling people to slow down and realize that Yao has to prove that he's a winner first before he displaces a guy with four championships.

Generally speaking, the way I distinguish genuine Yao haters from guys like Walton is when they keep pointing out Yao's shortcomings while passing faint praise his way (usually disguising it in a "well, he should be doing this anyways!" type of dismissal), all the while praising other young up-and-coming centers like Dwight Howard or Omeka Okafor, sometimes going as far as anointing Howard as the "next Shaq" and comparing their games to one another.

I think if we dig a little bit deeper into what's being said and by whom, we will be able to distinguish the two.

So as I said, I don't think Walton is hating on Yao, but I think he's being defensive about an all-time great like Shaq -- and by extension himself, lest we forget -- when he feels like Shaq isn't getting his just due by the media, or that people are 'overlooking' him.

 

Bill Walton is just a character that's entertaining. Who can not enjoy that voice? He says interesting things - he's the true defintion of color in color commentary - and that's why he's there.

As for the Yao Haters - I really think there are far less then people thing - there's not many reasons to hate the guy - he's pretty innocuous. Perhaps there are people who don't like the way he plays, but I don't consider that hating on him.

Look, every player has people who don't like them for one reason or the other. Shaq's free-throws, Kobe's off-the-court problems, even Magic Johnson had people who disliked him. It's just the way it goes. There's people who can't stand Brad Pitt, or George Bush, or whoever. The point is, why even bother trying to figure out what someone's motives are? Just take it at face-value...once you try to assign ulterior motives, you delve into a dangerous and tricky area and risk coming to the wrong conclusion.

Nobody wants that to happen

 

LOL for equating dislike of Brad Pitt with dislike of George Bush.