Wizards-Rockets Preview
By KATE HEDLIN
Posted Jan 26 2012 1:40PM
The Washington Wizards cruised to a win in Randy Wittman's first game as their head coach, but he knows they won't all be that easy.
Looking for their first road win, Wittman and the Wizards visit the Houston Rockets on Friday night.
Washington fired Flip Saunders on Tuesday after a 2-15 start, replacing him with Wittman, an assistant on Saunders' staff and former head coach in Cleveland and Minnesota.
The Wizards (3-15) won their first game under Wittman, rolling past Charlotte 92-75 on Wednesday night. They gave up their fewest points of the season and less than 100 for the first time in eight games.
Nick Young scored 20 points while Andray Blatche added 17 points and 10 rebounds.
"I can't honestly say we needed a new voice," Blatche said. "We just needed somebody to actually check us - like Wittman did. That's what we needed."
While defeating Charlotte, which fell to 3-16, may not have been a challenge, things now get more difficult. Wittman's team plays the next two on the road, where it is 0-7, then returns home to face Chicago on Monday before visiting Orlando on Wednesday.
"There's going to be periods where we fall back," Wittman said. "It's my job to get them out of it as quickly as I can."
Washington started 0-25 on the road last season. While this team hopes to avoid such a dubious mark, winning in Houston has been tough. The Wizards have lost eight of nine there and 15 of their last 17.
The Rockets (10-8) will also be eager to bounce back after their seven-game winning streak was snapped with a 105-99 loss to Milwaukee on Wednesday.
http://www.nba.com/games/20120127/WASHOU/gameinfo.html
