Walton brings earnest enthusiasm to ESPN

Bill Walton is now in his 35th season being part of the NBA, his 19th as a broadcaster. He is 56 years old and suffered in (self-imposed) silence while healing from a bad back during last year’s playoffs that led to Boston’s beating the Lakers in the Finals.

He’s back on the air at ESPN now, not for all the network’s “NBA Shootaround” shows, but enough. He returned on Christmas Day and he’ll appear again Feb. 6 when ESPN has a doubleheader of Denver at Washington and Golden State at Phoenix.

Walton’s earnest enthusiasm for the league is invigorating.

“A month ago everybody, me included, were giving this title to the Celtics,” he said. “Ten days ago it was the Lakers. Now? Orlando is playing the best ball.”

The cast of NBA analysts on ESPN seems endless; Walton calls them his “teammates.” Magic Johnson, Michael Wilbon, Jon Barry, Jalen Rose, Avery Johnson, Tim Legler. Walton pauses to catch his breath. A very short breath.

“Tim Legler, he’s a remarkable talent, an exceptionally hard worker, he has the ability to capture an element of everything about the game and with a flawless broadcasters’ technique,” Walton said.

Walton gently deflected any questions about his health with the firm statement, “I’m the luckiest guy in the world.” He preferred to talk about what would be on his network tonight.

“Boston at Cleveland, come on, you can’t wait for that. Dallas at Phoenix, two teams a couple years ago were considered championship contenders and now one of those teams, Dallas or Phoenix or quite possibly Utah, won’t make the playoffs.”

The most fun teams for Walton to watch, he says, are the Lakers -- “Because of Phil Jackson and their whole passing game,” he says -- and San Antonio.

And more than the twinges in his back, the former UCLA standout Walton says it pains him to say who his favorite NBA rookie is. “USC’s O.J. Mayo,” Walton says. “He has a myriad of high level skills and he can shoot the ball. Coach Wooden taught that the most critical skill in basketball was change of pace, change of direction. Mayo floats around the court. That’s how he changes direction.”

When is a dance not a dance?

When USC lineman Rey Maualuga shimmied up behind ESPN sideline reporter Erin Andrews during the Rose Bowl, the moment was inevitably captured by someone with a video-capable device and the desire to cause a splash because that video was soon posted on various platforms to spread itself around the Internet.

And inevitably the online discussions began about Andrews because, besides being a well-informed and hard-working reporter, she is attractive, and about Maualuga because he applies larger-than-life hits on the opposition and has an outsized personality.

What struck me about the clip were a couple of things. Andrews chose to remain quiet. She didn’t express any public feelings about what happened. Good for her.

As I read reactions across the online forums, including our own Fabulous Forum blog, it occurred to me that in this evolving media world we all need to react with some moderation.

For those who demanded Maualuga be arrested, kicked off, kicked out, something BIG, let’s calm down a moment. He did a dance appropriate for a college kid at a dive bar or frat party.

He chose to do it on a football field, which is Andrews’ office. Andrews was confident enough to ignore the childishness and do her job. She also understands that a football field is not a traditional office and the world of sports is still mostly for the boys (some grown, some not so much).

That said, let’s hope someone at USC seriously spoke to Maualuga about how disrespectful he was and how he put Andrews in a spotlight she didn’t ask for or deserve.

As one professional to another, I hope Andrews found Maualuga’s apology sincere. For all who felt compelled to click on the video and make comments, maybe you could stop for a moment and consider why and then answer whether it was worth it.

Good Saturday watching

Well, the NFL of course. But you don’t need to be told about the Baltimore at Tennessee game at 1:30 p.m. on Channel 2, or the Arizona at Carolina game at 5:15 p.m. on Channel 11. So let me give a plug to some locals. There are 18 men’s and women’s college games being televised Saturday. Cal State Fullerton plays at UC Santa Barbara on Prime Ticket at 7 p.m.

Good Sunday watching

Again, reminder probably not needed. Season-long ratings say that 225 million of you have watched NFL games this year. You’ve made NFL games 13 of the 15-most watched shows on network television and 14 of the most 15 on cable (way to go Boston and Tampa Bay; Game 7 of the World Series was No. 4).

But at 10 a.m. on Channel 11, it’s Philadelphia at the New York Giants. Then at 1:45 p.m. on Channel 2, San Diego continues its relentless march to the Super Bowl at Pittsburgh.

And UCLA-USC women’s and men’s basketball is on. The women play at 2:30 p.m. and the men play at 7:30 p.m., both on Prime Ticket.

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diane.pucin@latimes.com