The last time Randy Wittman took over an NBA team as interim coach was with the Minnesota Timberwolves, and there are plenty of those who think he replaced Flip Saunders there, too, just as he has done with the Wizards. He reminded a questioner during his introductory news conference Tuesday that it was general manager Kevin McHale who took over after he fired Saunders in 2005. Wittman was called upon two years later when McHale decided things weren’t working out for his chosen replacement for Saunders, Dwane Casey (who is now the coach in Toronto). Those 42 games have informed Wittman’s approach with the Wizards, which began with a 92-75 victory over Charlotte on Wednesday.
“You can’t throw a bundle of stuff at them and change everything because they’re going to go out there and not know what to do,” said Wittman, who was 12-30 that season and 38-105 overall in Minnesota. “You gotta simplify things. … The last time I tried to invent the game of basketball, and I learned from that.”
With only one shootaround session before his debut, Wittman said the Wizards (3-15) ran only three or four sets against the Bobcats while focusing on the key themes of raising the tempo, moving the ball better from side to side and pressuring on defense.
| Up next |
| Wizards at Rockets |
| When » Friday, 8 p.m. |
| Where » |
| Toyota Center, Houston |
| TV » CSN |
The players did many of those things, but a bigger impression was made during a team meeting Wednesday morning in which Wittman took each player to task individually.
“[He] gave everybody their role, told everybody what they needed to do to help this team win,” Wizards veteran forward Rashard Lewis said. “And we’re going to take baby steps, even though he’s pissed off about standing there being the head coach. He came here to help Flip, not take over his job.”
Aside from the different voice Wizards president of basketball operations Ernie Grunfeld said was needed, Wittman had a hard time differentiating himself from his predecessor.
“I’m doing what I know to do,” Wittman said. “This is how I coach. The most things people have ever told me when I’ve taken over a job is ‘Be yourself.’?”
He compared the job of ridding the Wizards of their tendency to play selfishly and without effort to quitting smoking.
“I’ve got to help them kick some of these bad habits that we’re into,” he said. “That’s all it is. We’ve fallen into playing a way that is not conducive for us to win. So when I see them pull out a cigarette, I’ve got to take it out of their mouth.”
The next chance comes against the Rockets (10-8), which is essentially Wittman’s second road game as coach since he replaced an ejected Saunders early in the first quarter at Boston on Jan. 2.
John Wall, who talked to Saunders by phone to make sure his relationship with his former coach was intact, said his focus wasn’t going to change no matter who is giving the orders.
“I’m just out here being a player and trying to be a leader and leave that to the guys upstairs, the owner, the general manager. Let them make those decisions,” Wall said. “What we gotta do as players is just play our hardest for whatever coach we have.”
