Rasual Butler hoists up a half-court shot attempt at the buzzer. Randy Wittman walks off the court before the ball even leaves Butler’s hands. The shot clanks off the backboard. Game over. The Washington Wizards lose their fourth straight game to the Indiana Pacers, who had previously lost six straight games.
Washington’s final possession against the Pacers was a microcosm of their season.
After a terrific start, the Washington Wizards have been playing below .500 basketball. John Wall has carried the team for the past two seasons without much help. Just like last night’s game, Wall’s efforts have been going to waste. Bradley Beal is constantly hurt and the team is too reliant on veterans that are well past their prime.
The Wizards had gained a double-digit advantage late in the game, but it was quickly squandered after they repeatedly forced the ball inside to Nene. John Wall scored a season-high 34 points and willed the team back by tying the game up, 101-101, with a tough three point shot in the closing moments. Despite Wall’s marvelous efforts, the Washington Wizards were unable to overcome their deficiencies, the main one being the lack of a great head coach.
Since Wall was selected first overall in 2010, he’s yet to play with another NBA All-Star. Other young guards such as Damian Lillard, Kyrie Irving and even Jeff Teague have all played with All-Stars since joining their respective teams. Instead, the Washington Wizards have built an old, unreliable roster around John Wall.
While that isn’t entirely Randy Wittman’s fault, and the finger should certainly be pointed at Ernie Grunfeld for constructing a flawed roster, Wittman has had numerous opportunities to give young players chances, but for whatever reason, refuses to do so.
Last night against the Pacers, former third overall pick Otto Porter became the team’s designated fouler late in the game. Besides a few stretches in the season, Rasual Butler and Martell Webster have not contributed this year. Otto Porter, on the other hand, hasn’t been stellar either. But, when he does play, it’s quite clear that his skill-set meshes well with John Wall. Porter’s ability to defend, hit the occasional outside shot and move without the basketball made him a perfect fit along side the All-Star guard.
Instead, Wall has played with inefficient shooters and players that are incapable of getting stops late in the game.
It’s simple: If Randy Wittman didn’t plan on utilizing Otto Porter, the Washington Wizards shouldn’t have drafted him. After all, big men like Nerlens Noel and Alex Len have thrived with their respective teams.
Perhaps adding a backup big man would’ve been a better idea than drafting Otto Porter, knowing that Trevor Ariza and Martell Webster would play ahead of him. Now that Washington could use more depth at the small forward position, Porter hasn’t even cracked the rotation. That’s an issue.
Otto Porter: DNP Bad Coaching
— Jack Kogod (@Unsilent) March 26, 2015
I recently spoke to someone close to the Washington Wizards and they made it clear that player development has always been a legitimate issue for the team.
I tried to think of a player that Washington has developed, and no one has yet come to mind. Wall and Beal practically fell into Washington’s lap, but they’ve missed on virtually every other pick.
Grunfeld chose Jan Vesely and Otto Porter in the lottery, expecting them to become a part of the team’s core, but instead Vesely is playing professional ball in Turkey and the other might not make it out of the average NBA career length.
While some have praised Washington for trading their draft picks for “cash considerations” because it’s resulted in the acquisition of veteran players, it’s a direct reflection of their inability to develop talent.
Players like Shelvin Mack and Shaun Livingston whom the franchise essentially gave up on have went on to become rotation players for other teams. Wittman and Co. were quick to oust the likes of Mack, showing zero patience in developing the players, but weren’t hesitant to add players like Andre Miller and Drew Gooden, who had just a few years left in their careers.
Randy Wittman has shown no confidence in his younger players and that’s become evident to some within the locker room. There’s a reason why Kevin Seraphin looks to score every time he touches the ball, because if he doesn’t make an immediate impact, he’ll get sent right back to Wittman’s doghouse.
That style of development has never worked and will never work.
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Not only has player development become a colossal failure under Randy Wittman, but the team’s lack of adjustments in-game are more than concerning.
The addition of Paul Pierce was supposed to give Wittman a more versatile player to work with, but in fact, Wittman’s lack of creativity has hindered Pierce’s performance since arriving to the nation’s capital.
Last season with the Brooklyn Nets, Pierce had most of his success while playing the power forward position. We haven’t seen Wittman utilize Pierce in that capacity often, but instead, we’ve seen him continuously roll out traditional lineups that don’t work against most teams in the NBA.
Against the Sacramento Kings and the Golden State Warriors, Wittman opted to play Nene and Marcin Gortat together, despite the other coaches decisions to play Rudy Gay and Draymond Green at the four spot, respectively. Wittman blamed the team’s defensive effort after both of those losses, but in fact, it was his coaching that led to both of those setbacks.
Nene isn’t capable of defending stretch fours. Having him out on the perimeter defending smaller forwards will only lead the opposing team to dominate the glass. That’s exactly what happened against the Warriors.
Last night against the Pacers, Randy Wittman made another critical coaching mistake.
Instead of playing his best rim protector, Marcin Gortat, Wittman put Martell Webster in the game, who ultimately defended George Hill on the game-winning basket. Not only has Wittman neglected to play Porter, but he’s failed to recognize Webster’s inability to defend after his third back surgery. With no rim protection, Hill blew past Webster and scored with no trouble.
Asked about the final play, Gortat said "no comment" #WizardsTalk @CSNWizards #WizPacers #NBA
— J. Michael (@ThisIsJMichael) March 26, 2015
Randy Wittman’s reluctance to play to his team’s strength has been recognized within the locker room.
Last year against the Indiana Pacers, some coaches had suggested to play Trevor Ariza at the power forward spot, but Randy Wittman decided to match up against the opposition with size. The other coaches recognized how the Atlanta Hawks were successful against the Pacers in the first round, yet Wittman, for whatever reason, did not want to play to the team’s strengths.
Some within the locker room have even questioned what the team would be like if another coach had the control of the team. With John Wall and Bradley Beal being the focus points of the team, it only makes sense to play to their strengths.
Instead, the Washington Wizards are in the bottom-half of the league in pace, despite having one of the most athletic back courts in the NBA.
As someone close to the team suggested, the Wizards are treating their new Ferrari like a used car. For the Wizards to utilize their Ferrari to its fullest potential, they need to find a new driver.
Randy Wittman’s coaching staff has done a lot for the team and most of it goes unnoticed. Don Newman, specifically, has coached under George Karl and Gregg Popovich.
Newman, along with many of Washington’s other assistant coaches, know what it takes to win games and even championships.
They’ve coached under versatile coaches in the past. Unfortunately, Randy Wittman’s stubbornness and “old-school” system hasn’t allowed some of his assistant’s ideas to come to fruition.
Wittman, similar to Mark Jackson with the Golden State Warriors, is loved by his coaching staff and the players. He’s worked hard and they understand his passion for the game. Frankly, I don’t think he would’ve kept the job in the first place if the players didn’t vouch for him.
Wittman has coached professionals and hasn’t had success with talented players such as Jordan Crawford or even Glen Rice Jr., because his patience doesn’t allow those players to work through their growing pains.
He might have been the right guy at the time, but for the future, I don’t think the Washington Wizards could continue relying on Randy Wittman. For them to truly establish a winning culture, they need a coach that will implement an offensive system that will utilize the talent on the team.
Wittman has done a lot of good things for the Washington Wizards, such as establishing a defensive identity. The team’s ceiling with Randy Wittman, though, is still very low.
He does still have a few years left on his contract, and unless the Washington Wizards get bounced out in the first round, I don’t think we’ll see a coaching change be made soon. If the team wants to compete at the highest level, they should strongly consider adding new voices to the front office and coaching staff.