Official Randy Wittman Thread - It's Playoff Randy Time LOL

[Chocolate City Jordanaire]

And the conversation comes full circle.

Next year will be the first year Ted is not throw money down a dark hole and getting nothing for it. Dray's 7M boat anchor comes off the book.

Randy is signed one more year at something in the 3M range.

Would you keep Randy one more year if it meant Ted bellied up for a DL team ?

I would.

I would love if ted bought his own DL team! it would be amazing to start looking into a farm system. We could sign guys like Khem Birch, Christian Kabongo, Daniel Theis, Kwame Vaughn. Those guys have had very nice seasons in the DL or over seas. Keep them in the fold, if that would have happened we could have made call ups instead of going after guys like Bynum. I also think the league rules need to change to support farm systems. There should be an injury reserve system similar to baseball. So call ups can be made from the DL affiliate. I know you can get exceptions but that's a pain in the ass. Keeping young talent close, for when you need it could become key to building a good team.

What would really be great is if he bought a team and put it in Baltimore! and after the last 48 hours, they could use some good news. I would drive up there to see dome DL games. The ongoing back story of players less than an hour away trying to make it to the Wizards could expand fan interest. It might go a long way toward rebuilding a larger Wizards following that could crowd out the fans of other teams.

I must say, people I work with who have been silent for years on the subject are suddenly coming up to me asking about the Wizards. It's always more fun when your team wins.

Monte, people you work with are catching Bullets Fever...

Someone needs to compose a Wizards song that all can relate to. Dobrojim??? Bullets Fever was hot even before MTV or You Tube.

Also, it would be nice to ADD something nice to Baltimore. A Bullets D-League team makes too much sense.

(I feel like Arnie Spaniar, a stinkin' genius!)

[fishercob]

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7dQ7GZFHgBI[/youtube]

[closg00]

I accept reality, Randy and Ernie aren't going anywhere. I will take my Tums in-advance in draft night.


#FireErnie ~ Because he believed Stephen Curry couldn't help us and Jan Vesely could.

I am open to new beginnings. The Grinch Who Stole Christmas ended up making good.

Turns out Otto Porter is a great pick. Nerlens Noel? Great for Philly.

Things are going so well that the Wizards might draft an awesome player at #19 AND 49.

OR, Ernie Grunfeld gonna Ernie draft night.

Heck, we have gone through 11 or 12 years of EG...not like we won't be Wizards fans, regardless.

The way I see it CCJ is that Ernie did what he normally does (cleaning-up prior mistakes and FA signings) and this time everything aligned for us this year. As a fan I just have to wish for continued good luck.


#FireErnie ~ Because he believed Stephen Curry couldn't help us and Jan Vesely could.

[Higga]

Randy Wittman: playoff genius.

I can't believe I just said that.

[Jay81]

wizards are now 51-36 lol

[Kanyewest]

I wonder if "saving Paul Pierce for the playoffs" has any merit. Glancing at the game logs in Brooklyn, it seems that Pierce's efficiency was not as high in the postseason as it was during the stretch of his best play, from January 2nd to the end of March). In April, Pierce's number plummeted. His numbers rebounded quite a bit in the postseason but some areas were not the same including his 3 point shooting. Still, it doesn't explain why Wittman didn't go to this lineup more- perhaps he didn't have enough faith in Porter/Butler over Nene/Humphries especially down the stretch of games.

For now, Pierce has been scoring at a pretty efficient rate while playing solid team defense. He's not getting as many rebounds and assists as he was in Brooklyn, but other guys have picked up the slack. Gortat is averaging close to 3 assists per game. Porter is nicely gobbling Pierce.

Porter has developed nicely. Perhaps Porter should have been seeing playing time all along but even so, he's a much better player than even a few months ago. A benching from Webster may have given Porter some extra motivation, sort of like the movie Whiplash.

Drew Gooden is also playing pretty good basketball at the right time. While he's not as efficient as Humphries during the regular season, his 3 point shooting in the postseason has been absurd at 50%. He has been better than Humphries defensively and at passing the ball.

Sessions has also been upgrade over Andre Miller and has played better as he's adapted into the system. He is solid defensively and his offense has gotten better especially from his stint with Sacramento.

The Wizards shortening their rotations also help. Rather than running their players into the ground during the regular season with 8 man rotations, the Wizards chose to play other guys including someone like Kevin Seraphin. But now guys can ramp up their minutes including the veterans.

I also think the defensive focus of players on the Wizards is much higher. Perhaps it ties into that Washington has been scouting their opponents better but it could just be the effort is better. Wall is always capable of playing good defense but at time he suffers mental lapses over the long regular season. Given there are no back to backs and these are big games, Wall is dialed in. The same is true of the veterans who ration their energy from game to game during the regular season but seem to give an all out effort. Beal has also improved defensively since the start of the season, given that that the team relies more upon Beal defensively since the departure of Trevor Ariza.

[pineappleheadindc]

.
For hands and Millie:

[tweet]https://twitter.com/BulletsForever/status/595283591686266880[/tweet]

[closg00]

Will there be another title change to this thread?

[hands11]

Will there be another title change to this thread?

Of course.

Was that really in question ?

[closg00]

Will there be another title change to this thread?

Of course.

Was that really in question ?

Nah, probably not

[TheSecretWeapon]

True fact: Playoffs Randy Wittman defeated both Vizzini AND The Man in Black in a Battle of Wits by playing possum and then slaying them both with Truth daggers thrown from approximately 18 feet.

[Severn Hoos]

I'm becoming convinced that Randy is some kind of cross between Norman Dale and Mr. Miyagi. He spends 3/4 of the movie doing things that seem to make no sense, and get everyone around him (including his team/pupil and fans) frustrated that they have such a dolt in charge of things. Then, once the tournament begins, it all come together and he looks like a genius.

The difference is, you expect it in a move. Not so much in real life.










[Yes, I realize that the situations are not the same, that the movie coaches actually built on the fundamentals they were teaching their students, even when the students couldn't see it themselves. And the Wiz are doing things quite differently from how they did in the regular season - cutting down the long 2s, giving extended minutes to Otto, playing a Stretch 4, etc. But maybe that just shows how Randy's even more brilliant than the fictional paragons of coaching. He was not only teaching his team the whole time, he was playing possum with the rest of the league, so they wouldn't expect actual basketball strategy when the playoffs come around. I am in awe...]

[nate33]

I'm becoming convinced that Randy is some kind of cross between Norman Dale and Mr. Miyagi. He spends 3/4 of the movie doing things that seem to make no sense, and get everyone around him (including his team/pupil and fans) frustrated that they have such a dolt in charge of things. Then, once the tournament begins, it all come together and he looks like a genius.

The difference is, you expect it in a move. Not so much in real life.

Mr. Miyagi! What a perfect analogy.

[gtn130]

Love that Wittman has finally changed the offense in the playoffs (and validated all criticism of the offense by virtue of the success they've had playing small and shooting 3s), and I'll even go as far as to say I'd be OK with him staying on as the Wizards coach as long as they continue with their playoff offensive strategy.

But, Wittman is getting a pass this series when he shouldn't be. Nene playing the 4 makes little sense vs the Hawks normal lineup with Millsap on the court. Our starting unit has played by far the most minutes vs the Hawks and has had a -11 NetRtg over 36 minutes, while Pierce at the 4, Gortat at the 5 is +5 over 23 minutes. Small sample and whatnot, but in this case the eye test definitely corroborates my belief that our starting unit is losing games for us. Nene paired with Gortat kills the offense and barely helps the defense if at all (it doesn't. Nene can't guard Millsap at all, but Millsap has missed shots he usually makes).

I understand playing sub-optimal lineups in the regular season to give guys rest, but 1) Randy isn't doing that, as he thinks the starting unit is still his best lineup and 2) This is the playoffs and playing 40+ minutes is not crazy. At a minimum, the minutes for the aforementioned lineups should be reversed, and until that happens, Wittman is pretty clearly not doing a good job this series.

[LyricalRico]

But, Wittman is getting a pass this series when he shouldn't be. Nene playing the 4 makes little sense vs the Hawks normal lineup with Millsap on the court. Our starting unit has played by far the most minutes vs the Hawks and has had a -11 NetRtg over 36 minutes, while Pierce at the 4, Gortat at the 5 is +5 over 23 minutes. Small sample and whatnot, but in this case the eye test definitely corroborates my belief that our starting unit is losing games for us. Nene paired with Gortat kills the offense and barely helps the defense if at all (it doesn't. Nene can't guard Millsap at all, but Millsap has missed shots he usually makes).

I understand playing sub-optimal lineups in the regular season to give guys rest, but 1) Randy isn't doing that, as he thinks the starting unit is still his best lineup and 2) This is the playoffs and playing 40+ minutes is not crazy. At a minimum, the minutes for the aforementioned lineups should be reversed, and until that happens, Wittman is pretty clearly not doing a good job this series.

Randy is actually really lucky that Nene woke up and has a pulse, which has bailed him out IMO. The problem is that I believe Randy would have still continued to start Nene even if he still had zero field goals in the series, and that's what scares me about him being the coach longterm. The "full steam ahead, darn the torpedoes" attitude when something is clearly not working (same with the Beal iso offense that fails most of the time, yet they still run repeatedly late in games even when Wall is healthy).

Heck, I even wonder if Pierce at the 4 would have still happened if Humphries hadn't been hurt late in the season and Wittman had gone into the playoffs with his normal rotation still intact. What about him makes us think he would have deviated from what he'd been doing all year had everyone been healthy and in sync?

It's about more than just one game, or one player. This is a coach that has a trend of moving way too slow when it comes to trying new things to win. And it's worse IMO when the team is fighting for their playoff life without their best player.

[gtn130]

But, Wittman is getting a pass this series when he shouldn't be. Nene playing the 4 makes little sense vs the Hawks normal lineup with Millsap on the court. Our starting unit has played by far the most minutes vs the Hawks and has had a -11 NetRtg over 36 minutes, while Pierce at the 4, Gortat at the 5 is +5 over 23 minutes. Small sample and whatnot, but in this case the eye test definitely corroborates my belief that our starting unit is losing games for us. Nene paired with Gortat kills the offense and barely helps the defense if at all (it doesn't. Nene can't guard Millsap at all, but Millsap has missed shots he usually makes).

I understand playing sub-optimal lineups in the regular season to give guys rest, but 1) Randy isn't doing that, as he thinks the starting unit is still his best lineup and 2) This is the playoffs and playing 40+ minutes is not crazy. At a minimum, the minutes for the aforementioned lineups should be reversed, and until that happens, Wittman is pretty clearly not doing a good job this series.

Randy is actually really lucky that Nene woke up and has a pulse, which has bailed him out IMO. The problem is that I believe Randy would have still continued to start Nene even if he still had zero field goals in the series, and that's what scares me about him being the coach longterm. The "full steam ahead, darn the torpedoes" attitude when something is clearly not working (same with the Beal iso offense that fails most of the time, yet they still run repeatedly late in games even when Wall is healthy).

Heck, I even wonder if Pierce at the 4 would have still happened if Humphries hadn't been hurt late in the season and Wittman had gone into the playoffs with his normal rotation still intact. What about him makes us think he would have deviated from what he'd been doing all year had everyone been healthy and in sync?

It's about more than just one game, or one player. This is a coach that has a trend of moving way too slow when it comes to trying new things to win. And it's worse IMO when the team is fighting for their playoff life without their best player.

Agreed with everything you said. My hope is that Wittman ends up just doing what the front office is telling him to do not unlike Kevin McHale with Houston. I'm assuming the front office, based on some things Ted has blogged about, has slightly more of a clue than Wittman does.

Wittman is never going to be some innovative coach who makes adjustments on the bleeding edge, but if he can do what he's told then he's salvageable.

[nate33]

But, Wittman is getting a pass this series when he shouldn't be. Nene playing the 4 makes little sense vs the Hawks normal lineup with Millsap on the court. Our starting unit has played by far the most minutes vs the Hawks and has had a -11 NetRtg over 36 minutes, while Pierce at the 4, Gortat at the 5 is +5 over 23 minutes. Small sample and whatnot, but in this case the eye test definitely corroborates my belief that our starting unit is losing games for us. Nene paired with Gortat kills the offense and barely helps the defense if at all (it doesn't. Nene can't guard Millsap at all, but Millsap has missed shots he usually makes).

I understand playing sub-optimal lineups in the regular season to give guys rest, but 1) Randy isn't doing that, as he thinks the starting unit is still his best lineup and 2) This is the playoffs and playing 40+ minutes is not crazy. At a minimum, the minutes for the aforementioned lineups should be reversed, and until that happens, Wittman is pretty clearly not doing a good job this series.

Randy is actually really lucky that Nene woke up and has a pulse, which has bailed him out IMO. The problem is that I believe Randy would have still continued to start Nene even if he still had zero field goals in the series, and that's what scares me about him being the coach longterm. The "full steam ahead, darn the torpedoes" attitude when something is clearly not working (same with the Beal iso offense that fails most of the time, yet they still run repeatedly late in games even when Wall is healthy).

I'm going to have to defend Wittman here. It's his "full steam ahead, darn the torpedoes" attitude that helps his players remain confident. They're not worried about being benched just because they've had 2 bad games in a row. Nene "waking up and having a pulse" isn't luck. It's Wittman's consistency and faith in his players paying off.

[gtn130]

But, Wittman is getting a pass this series when he shouldn't be. Nene playing the 4 makes little sense vs the Hawks normal lineup with Millsap on the court. Our starting unit has played by far the most minutes vs the Hawks and has had a -11 NetRtg over 36 minutes, while Pierce at the 4, Gortat at the 5 is +5 over 23 minutes. Small sample and whatnot, but in this case the eye test definitely corroborates my belief that our starting unit is losing games for us. Nene paired with Gortat kills the offense and barely helps the defense if at all (it doesn't. Nene can't guard Millsap at all, but Millsap has missed shots he usually makes).

I understand playing sub-optimal lineups in the regular season to give guys rest, but 1) Randy isn't doing that, as he thinks the starting unit is still his best lineup and 2) This is the playoffs and playing 40+ minutes is not crazy. At a minimum, the minutes for the aforementioned lineups should be reversed, and until that happens, Wittman is pretty clearly not doing a good job this series.

Randy is actually really lucky that Nene woke up and has a pulse, which has bailed him out IMO. The problem is that I believe Randy would have still continued to start Nene even if he still had zero field goals in the series, and that's what scares me about him being the coach longterm. The "full steam ahead, darn the torpedoes" attitude when something is clearly not working (same with the Beal iso offense that fails most of the time, yet they still run repeatedly late in games even when Wall is healthy).

I'm going to have to defend Wittman here. It's his "full steam ahead, darn the torpedoes" attitude that helps his players remain confident. They're not worried about being benched just because they've had 2 bad games in a row. Nene "waking up and having a pulse" isn't luck. It's Wittman's consistency and faith in his players paying off.

How did it pay off? Even with Millsap in foul trouble yesterday and Nene going ham on offense, the Wizards starting unit was +1.2 and they lost the game.

Their starting unit, especially with Wall instead of Sessions, isn't a good lineup, but it gets the bulk of the minutes because Wittman is stubborn. That seems like the opposite of paying off to me.

[Illmatic12]

But, Wittman is getting a pass this series when he shouldn't be. Nene playing the 4 makes little sense vs the Hawks normal lineup with Millsap on the court. Our starting unit has played by far the most minutes vs the Hawks and has had a -11 NetRtg over 36 minutes, while Pierce at the 4, Gortat at the 5 is +5 over 23 minutes. Small sample and whatnot, but in this case the eye test definitely corroborates my belief that our starting unit is losing games for us. Nene paired with Gortat kills the offense and barely helps the defense if at all (it doesn't. Nene can't guard Millsap at all, but Millsap has missed shots he usually makes).

I understand playing sub-optimal lineups in the regular season to give guys rest, but 1) Randy isn't doing that, as he thinks the starting unit is still his best lineup and 2) This is the playoffs and playing 40+ minutes is not crazy. At a minimum, the minutes for the aforementioned lineups should be reversed, and until that happens, Wittman is pretty clearly not doing a good job this series.

Randy is actually really lucky that Nene woke up and has a pulse, which has bailed him out IMO. The problem is that I believe Randy would have still continued to start Nene even if he still had zero field goals in the series, and that's what scares me about him being the coach longterm. The "full steam ahead, darn the torpedoes" attitude when something is clearly not working (same with the Beal iso offense that fails most of the time, yet they still run repeatedly late in games even when Wall is healthy).

Heck, I even wonder if Pierce at the 4 would have still happened if Humphries hadn't been hurt late in the season and Wittman had gone into the playoffs with his normal rotation still intact. What about him makes us think he would have deviated from what he'd been doing all year had everyone been healthy and in sync?

It's about more than just one game, or one player. This is a coach that has a trend of moving way too slow when it comes to trying new things to win. And it's worse IMO when the team is fighting for their playoff life without their best player.

Guys Nene himself is a major problem on this team. Not enough people seem to acknowledge this. He's a sinkhole right now in the construction of the roster, and that isn't Wittman's fault.

I know Randy isn't the best coach out there, but any coach having to deal with a moody inconsistent big man like Nene has to be hell. Nene is an overpaid albatross contract, who at this stage in his career he only plays hard when he wants to, has the worst attitude on the court constantly complaining to the refs, always bitching about injuries, nonexistent leadership skills as far as I know (I've never heard anyone on the team refer to him as a leader yet even Gooden gets praise from his teammates).

BUT when he IS willing to play hard, the guy can go out and dominate for a game or even a playoff series. So as a coach, you kind of want to placate to his ego a bit in hopes that he will flip that 'switch'.. this is the dynamic that has been happening with every coach Nene has had for almost his entire career. Unfortunately we're getting him at the tail end of that career, when his play on the court is starting to no longer be worth putting up with his BS anymore.

If Nene was more focused in his approach to the game, Randy could at least get a better feel for how and when to use him successfully. But you can't blame a coach when he has to practically beg a guy to play on a game-to-game basis. I don't envy anyone who has to coach Nene, he's the least coachable player on the team imo and the Wizards (and Wittman) will be much better off once he's been replaced.

[closg00]

But, Wittman is getting a pass this series when he shouldn't be. Nene playing the 4 makes little sense vs the Hawks normal lineup with Millsap on the court. Our starting unit has played by far the most minutes vs the Hawks and has had a -11 NetRtg over 36 minutes, while Pierce at the 4, Gortat at the 5 is +5 over 23 minutes. Small sample and whatnot, but in this case the eye test definitely corroborates my belief that our starting unit is losing games for us. Nene paired with Gortat kills the offense and barely helps the defense if at all (it doesn't. Nene can't guard Millsap at all, but Millsap has missed shots he usually makes).

I understand playing sub-optimal lineups in the regular season to give guys rest, but 1) Randy isn't doing that, as he thinks the starting unit is still his best lineup and 2) This is the playoffs and playing 40+ minutes is not crazy. At a minimum, the minutes for the aforementioned lineups should be reversed, and until that happens, Wittman is pretty clearly not doing a good job this series.

Randy is actually really lucky that Nene woke up and has a pulse, which has bailed him out IMO. The problem is that I believe Randy would have still continued to start Nene even if he still had zero field goals in the series, and that's what scares me about him being the coach longterm. The "full steam ahead, darn the torpedoes" attitude when something is clearly not working (same with the Beal iso offense that fails most of the time, yet they still run repeatedly late in games even when Wall is healthy).

Heck, I even wonder if Pierce at the 4 would have still happened if Humphries hadn't been hurt late in the season and Wittman had gone into the playoffs with his normal rotation still intact. What about him makes us think he would have deviated from what he'd been doing all year had everyone been healthy and in sync?

It's about more than just one game, or one player. This is a coach that has a trend of moving way too slow when it comes to trying new things to win. And it's worse IMO when the team is fighting for their playoff life without their best player.

Guys Nene himself is a major problem on this team. Not enough people seem to acknowledge this. He's a sinkhole right now in the construction of the roster, and that isn't Wittman's fault.

I know Randy isn't the best coach out there, but any coach having to deal with a moody inconsistent big man like Nene has to be hell. Nene is an overpaid albatross contract, who at this stage in his career he only plays hard when he wants to, has the worst attitude on the court constantly complaining to the refs, always bitching about injuries, nonexistent leadership skills as far as I know (I've never heard anyone on the team refer to him as a leader yet even Gooden gets praise from his teammates).

BUT when he IS willing to play hard, the guy can go out and dominate for a game or even a playoff series. So as a coach, you kind of want to placate to his ego a bit in hopes that he will flip that 'switch'.. this is the dynamic that has been happening with every coach Nene has had for almost his entire career. Unfortunately we're getting him at the tail end of that career, when his play on the court is starting to no longer be worth putting up with his BS anymore.

If Nene was more focused in his approach to the game, Randy could at least get a better feel for how and when to use him successfully. But you can't blame a coach when he has to practically beg a guy to play on a game-to-game basis. I don't envy anyone who has to coach Nene, he's the least coachable player on the team imo and the Wizards (and Wittman) will be much better off once he's been replaced.

Prophetic
On a side note, is it premature to get our hopes up about a Randy-Ernie firing?