GT #35: Rockets @ Wizards 7 PM CSN

[jivelikenice]

Absolutely agree. Wttman never should have been the coach, interim or on a two year deal. End it now!

[Ruzious]

Beal - 15 FG attempts and 10 points
Harden - 14 FG attempts and 25 points

Not to mention the difference in rebounds and assists

You can't expect a 20 year old Beal to outplay Harden. Plus Harden gets more bogus calls than any player in the NBA.

Where did I say I expected Beal to outplay Harden? WHOEVER plays NO MATTER WHAT THEIR AGE has to be competitive. Beal wasn't competitive - especially down the stretch. He was outplayed by an absurd margin. That's not okay. And it's not like it was a road game. And I didn't see any bogus calls. The call on the jumper Harden made down the stretch that Beal whined about was an obvious call.

[JAR69]

Another coaching question: why were they switching on all the high pick and rolls? They ended up with one-on-one mismatches on a lot of plays.

I agreed with Randy going to the bench near the end of the 4th - the guys out there were starting to look gassed. Beal wasn't a good choice, though. Despite how great he played, I thought Seraphin needed to come out, at least for a blow.

I was at the game, and it was truly bizarre during the stoppages. At the start of the first one, the Rockets were shooting around with the game ball, and Webster came over and rebounded it, and carried over to an official. He seemed to be saying they weren't allowed to shoot like that, and the official seemed to agree. Garcia was quite pissed. Later, when they this was going to take awhile, they brought out more balls. Howard playing one-on-one with the kid was great, though he blocked too many of the kid's shots.

[dandridge 10]

D, coaches absolutely matter. The same ppl that predicted us to be a borderline playoff team also expected Atlanta and Toronto to be in a race for the #1 pick, especially now with Horford out. The difference? Wittman. He doesn't have answer in press conferences, he knows cliches. He never says " I'm doing a poor job of having these guys ready". He overextends players minutes because he knows he needs to get on the playoffs to save his job; the last chance he'll have as a HC. Instead of designing ways to get easy shots, his answer is "our top guys need to make plays." We have a mediocre team because Ernie hasn't constructed a balanced team and he built a poor bench. But w/Ariza and Wall being the only two playing well, how can you say Wittman is doing a good job or putting guys in position to win. The argument that these are pros and they should have professional pride doesn't fly with me because that absolves the coach of any responsibility.

Jive, I never said coaches don't matter. I could have termed it better but I said Witt is "not the real problem on this team"....meaning the larger problem, IMHO, is the lack of talent on the team (primarily the bench players) and the poor play of the starters lately (particularly their focus). You yourself acknowledge that the Wiz are a mediocre team because of how Ernie constructed it. Yet, you somehow expect Wittman to take a mediocre team that is not well balanced and lacks any depth and make it an above average team. I just don't get it. You also criticize him for overextending minutes while at the same time acknowledging that the Wizards have a poor bench.

You say Wittman is not putting guys in a position to win. However, in the last couple of losses, I have seen our players be put in a position to win, but fail to capitalize. I've seen Wall miss lay-ups; I've seen Nene miss point blank shots; I've seen Gortat brick wide open 10 footers; and I've seen Martell and Ariza miss wide open threes; not to mention the plethora of free throws missed. I've also seen Wiz defenders getting back lazily on defense, leading to transition points by opponents, failing to box out, etc.. I've also seen the players come out flat and with no energy repeatedly after appearing to be content to just reach .500. There is only so many Knute Rockne speeches a coach can give before I game. At some point, the Wizards players have to take responsibility for not coming out focused and with energy in games, particularly at home.

Regarding putting Beal in at the end of the game, Wittman did the same thing in the Nets and Knicks games and it worked out beautifully because Beal hit clutch shots. I don't recall anyone complaining about Witt's coaching those games. Beal hit winning shots those games...he didn't tonight. That doesn't make Witt a bad coach.

Regarding Toronto and Atlanta, Toronto has more talent on its team period. Wall might be slightly better than Lowry, but every other starter for the Raptors is playing better than the Wiz counterpart, and its bench is way better. Atlanta has gotten a majority of its wins with Horford in the line-up and most people predicted the Hawks would be better than the Wiz this year. Although the Hawks have won a few games without Horford, I would be shocked if they kept it up. Let's see how they do in the next 10 games.

Hands says look at Pop at Spurs. I agree he is a good coach and I like his style. He also has 3 HOF'ers on his team, a really good young player in Leonard and bench players that can actually play well on a consistent basis. Don't get me wrong, I think Pops is a fine coach. But, I also recognize that he (just like Phil Jackson) has always had the luxury of having HOF players on his team. Witt doesn't have one HOF on his team (indeed, he only has one borderline All-star on his team) and zero bench.

Again, I'm not saying that coaching never matters. It does sometimes (like when Woodson didn't call a time-out for NY when we beat them). I also don't think Wittman is the greatest thing since sliced bread. I will not be sad to see him go. I just don't like it when after every loss, the same ol' people blame it on Wittman and bring out the FIRE THE COACH chant. To me, THIS JUST ABSOLVES THE PLAYERS OF ANY RESPONSIBILITY. Last night, I really didn't have a problem with how Witt coached. I did, however, have a big problem with the lack of energy and the lack of focus that the players showed throughout 3 quarters. The players were able to play very well in Wittman's system for one quarter. I just wonder why they couldn't play that well in his system the first three quarters.

[dckingsfan]

If Ted is going to make his change his press conference should go like this:

Ted: I have been disappointed by the direction of the team to this point. I have accepted the resignations of both Ernie Grunfeld and Coach Wittman.

XYZ will assume Ernie's duties until the end of the year. He will be replaced with a permanent GM at that time and will not be considered for the permanent GM job.

ABC will replace Coach Wittman until the end of the season. He will be replaced by a new coach hired by our new GM.

I think that is asking for to much with them looking to go to the playoffs. Getting one of the assistants to finish the year with EG as GM is probably about as much as they can do. So who would it be. Newman ? With his SA cred I think it would be. That keep things a little more non disruptive. EG stay GM. Newman coaches them into the playoff. Then they reevaluate. Meaning EG is still likely gone but you are saying all that right up front.

If you get a new GM, Newman is likely gone anyway so way say that up front and make everyone a lame duck publicly. You have to give people some sense that there is something to fight for.

If you are going to make the change, make the change. Don't pussy foot around. Fire them both at the same time.

EG promoted Witt - if Witt get's fired EG goes at the same time.

[dandridge 10]

If Ted is going to make his change his press conference should go like this:

Ted: I have been disappointed by the direction of the team to this point. I have accepted the resignations of both Ernie Grunfeld and Coach Wittman.

XYZ will assume Ernie's duties until the end of the year. He will be replaced with a permanent GM at that time and will not be considered for the permanent GM job.

ABC will replace Coach Wittman until the end of the season. He will be replaced by a new coach hired by our new GM.

I think that is asking for to much with them looking to go to the playoffs. Getting one of the assistants to finish the year with EG as GM is probably about as much as they can do. So who would it be. Newman ? With his SA cred I think it would be. That keep things a little more non disruptive. EG stay GM. Newman coaches them into the playoff. Then they reevaluate. Meaning EG is still likely gone but you are saying all that right up front.

If you get a new GM, Newman is likely gone anyway so way say that up front and make everyone a lame duck publicly. You have to give people some sense that there is something to fight for.

If you are going to make the change, make the change. Don't pussy foot around. Fire them both at the same time.

EG promoted Witt - if Witt get's fired EG goes at the same time.

This I agree with. If Witt goes, EG has to go either before or at the same time. If people want to find the root cause for this team being mediocre, its Ernie Grunfeld.

[hands11]

If Ted is going to make his change his press conference should go like this:

Ted: I have been disappointed by the direction of the team to this point. I have accepted the resignations of both Ernie Grunfeld and Coach Wittman.

XYZ will assume Ernie's duties until the end of the year. He will be replaced with a permanent GM at that time and will not be considered for the permanent GM job.

ABC will replace Coach Wittman until the end of the season. He will be replaced by a new coach hired by our new GM.

I think that is asking for to much with them looking to go to the playoffs. Getting one of the assistants to finish the year with EG as GM is probably about as much as they can do. So who would it be. Newman ? With his SA cred I think it would be. That keep things a little more non disruptive. EG stay GM. Newman coaches them into the playoff. Then they reevaluate. Meaning EG is still likely gone but you are saying all that right up front.

If you get a new GM, Newman is likely gone anyway so way say that up front and make everyone a lame duck publicly. You have to give people some sense that there is something to fight for.

If you are going to make the change, make the change. Don't pussy foot around. Fire them both at the same time.

EG promoted Witt - if Witt get's fired EG goes at the same time.

I know it feels good to say that, but that's not reality based. I highly highly highly doubt they do that. That was my point. So if you set that up as your standard for what will happen, you are just setting yourself up to have something to complain about. Because that is very unlikely to happen. Its a strawman.

What is more likely to happen is what I suggested. Newman as HC and EG stays GM then evaluate at the end of the year. EG either moves on or he moves up to VP only and they get a new GM. That GM get to decide to keep Newman as HC or get a new one. That is what's more likely to happen.

[dckingsfan]

If we want to be reality based, Ted is sticking with both of them until the end of the season.

[stevemcqueen1]

There are so many problems with Wittman's coaching and his offense that it is hard to pinpoint root causes for why the end product is so crappy.

I think the cumulative effect of his offense being drawn up in crayon is that we consistently play much farther from the basket than our opponents. That's a function of us getting outcoached plain and simple. A poor offensive system and coaching that ends up with our guards and wings pressing and making bad decisions and settling for bad shots.

Why don't we get any sort of regular dribble penetration? We've got two supposedly star caliber guards.

Why don't we get any sort of regular pass penetration? We've got a team full of supposedly high IQ unselfish players, a brilliant passing PG, and a couple of big men who are supposed to be able to score inside.

Why have Nene's shooting percentages plummeted since we got him? Why is Gortat not nearly as efficient as he was in his first year in Phoenix?

Why are John and Beal so much less efficient than they should be?

It all comes back to us running an offense drawn up in crayon. When we have a good offensive night it's in spite of Randy. It's almost always because Wall has gone completely HAM and is the best guy on the court by a mile that night. Or Beal/Webster/Ariza are shooting through a hoola-hoop that night. Stuff we shouldn't have to count on.

I'll paraphrase a friend of mine from another forum: think about what a brand new coach with no NBA experience in Brad Stevens was getting out of Jordan Crawford and Avery Bradley. Now think about what he could do with Wall and Beal.

We need a top notch coach to get to the next level with this roster.

[Wizardspride]

There are so many problems with Wittman's coaching and his offense that it is hard to pinpoint root causes for why the end product is so crappy.

I think the cumulative effect of his offense being drawn up in crayon is that we consistently play much farther from the basket than our opponents. That's a function of us getting outcoached plain and simple. A poor offensive system and coaching that ends up with our guards and wings pressing and making bad decisions and settling for bad shots.

Why don't we get any sort of regular dribble penetration? We've got two supposedly star caliber guards.

Why don't we get any sort of regular pass penetration? We've got a team full of supposedly high IQ unselfish players, a brilliant passing PG, and a couple of big men who are supposed to be able to score inside.

Why have Nene's shooting percentages plummeted since we got him? Why is Gortat not nearly as efficient as he was in his first year in Phoenix?

Why are John and Beal so much less efficient than they should be?

It all comes back to us running an offense drawn up in crayon. When we have a good offensive night it's in spite of Randy. It's almost always because Wall has gone completely HAM and is the best guy on the court by a mile that night. Or Beal/Webster/Ariza are shooting through a hoola-hoop that night. Stuff we shouldn't have to count on.

I'll paraphrase a friend of mine from another forum: think about what a brand new coach with no NBA experience in Brad Stevens was getting out of Jordan Crawford and Avery Bradley. Now think about what he could do with Wall and Beal.

We need a top notch coach to get to the next level with this roster.

I wish I could "And 1" this post a million times.

[jivelikenice]

There are so many problems with Wittman's coaching and his offense that it is hard to pinpoint root causes for why the end product is so crappy.

I think the cumulative effect of his offense being drawn up in crayon is that we consistently play much farther from the basket than our opponents. That's a function of us getting outcoached plain and simple. A poor offensive system and coaching that ends up with our guards and wings pressing and making bad decisions and settling for bad shots.

Why don't we get any sort of regular dribble penetration? We've got two supposedly star caliber guards.

Why don't we get any sort of regular pass penetration? We've got a team full of supposedly high IQ unselfish players, a brilliant passing PG, and a couple of big men who are supposed to be able to score inside.

Why have Nene's shooting percentages plummeted since we got him? Why is Gortat not nearly as efficient as he was in his first year in Phoenix?

Why are John and Beal so much less efficient than they should be?

It all comes back to us running an offense drawn up in crayon. When we have a good offensive night it's in spite of Randy. It's almost always because Wall has gone completely HAM and is the best guy on the court by a mile that night. Or Beal/Webster/Ariza are shooting through a hoola-hoop that night. Stuff we shouldn't have to count on.

I'll paraphrase a friend of mine from another forum: think about what a brand new coach with no NBA experience in Brad Stevens was getting out of Jordan Crawford and Avery Bradley. Now think about what he could do with Wall and Beal.

We need a top notch coach to get to the next level with this roster.

Absolutely on point.....great post.

[Hidden Eye]

Classic Beal with his one dimensional poor jump shooting game.

Wittman start packing them bags .

[Dark Faze]

Leonsis:

We lost a tough game but our guys made a valiant effort storming back from twenty down.

We remain sixth in the eastern conference despite playing 4 games in 5 nights.

There is reason to be optimistic.

We are winning games on the road and our young players are gaining experience.

[hands11]

http://www.bulletsforever.com/2014/1/12 ... ds-rockets

And outsiders view.

Not a Wizards fan, but have had partial season tickets for several years and was at the game last night. Every time I go, it makes me angry to watch the offense Wittman has them running. I’m sure that it’s already been covered on here at some point, so I apologize if I’m beating a dead horse. That being said, it makes me really angry to see Wittman sell out his players when he was largely responsible for the loss last night. The Wizards made a 19-0 run by nixing the emphasis on drawn-out, halfcourt possessions (and way less long twos on hand-offs from big men. I wonder what the points per possession is on those plays.) I know NBA games naturally slow down in the last few minutes, but Wittman doesn’t recognize that his team scores more efficiently when they get into their action quickly. The Wizards certainly have other problems, and Beal has been off recently, but I can’t help but feel like Wittman is getting so much less out of his personnel than he should. So when he calls them out for laziness, I can’t bear hearing it. He’s an awful coach, and he should at least hold himself accountable in some way. Unfortunately, I think the Wizards are too good for them to fire him. I feel bad for you guys as Wizards fans, because I know it makes me angry as a fairly impartial ticket-holder.

[Silvie Lysandra]

So Wittman's pulling a Mike Shanahan? Are we now going to see Sally Jenkins quoting "anonymous sources" about John Wall ignoring his teammates?

[jivelikenice]

^Getting close. The AAU comments was ridiculous and I really have a hard time thinknig of a player on this team who's selfish. Bad shot selection doesn't = selfish. It means players aren't accepting their roles or aren't getting a clear understanding of what's expected from coaching staff. Considering the offense seems to be run, shoot open 1's, and not much else, it's easy to understand why there might be some confusion. It would be nice it Wittman for once would be just "I need to do a better job"

[Dark Faze]

I'd argue both Nene and Beal have been pretty selfish of late. The ball never seems to come back out when it goes to Nene anymore and Beal basically hijacks possessions with his "do you see how hard I'm working to get open for the worst look in basketball" antics.

[jivelikenice]

I doubt Wittman was talking about Nene. He seems to be exempt from criticism.

[Nivek]

I'd argue both Nene and Beal have been pretty selfish of late. The ball never seems to come back out when it goes to Nene anymore and Beal basically hijacks possessions with his "do you see how hard I'm working to get open for the worst look in basketball" antics.

Nene had 6 assists against Houston, 4 against Indy and 3 against New Orleans. How much more should the ball be coming out?

As for Beal, his job is to shoot the ball. That said, I think we're in agreement in wanting to see Beal become smarter in his shot selection.