Randy Wittman Seems to "Get It"

The words "get it" are common amongst Wizards fans. We ask "is this the year that McGee will get it" or is this the year that Blatche finally gets it?. It actually reminds me of the old Washington Post TV ads where the slogan was "You either get it, or you don't" "If you don't get it, you don't get it". Yet, like all optimistic fans, we always hope for the best and dream that our players will finally "get it". Flip Saunders didn't "get it" and he's now gone, but Randy Wittman has been on the bench since Flip was hired, he's been through the ups and downs, the dramas and fallouts, he's seen it all from the inside, and apparently he was paying attention, because in only 3 games he already seems to "get it".

Now I'm not about to waste words on how the team is 2-1 since his "promotion" or that they could sneak into the 8th seed or anything delusional of the sort, but in the three games with Wittman as "the voice", the team seems to be heading in the direction that we all thought they were designed to be. They are young, they are tall, they are deep, and they are athletic. While the bulk of the players might not be as skilled as their competition, they should be able to out run and hustle anybody in the league.

Moving Jan Vesely to the starting lineup and the subsequent benching of Andray Blatche was a BOLD move by Wittman. While it hasn't always been pretty, nobody can complain about Vesely not giving it 100%. We're seeing more playing time for Shelvin Mack, some consistent minutes for Kevin Seraphin, and about 20 mpg for Trevor Booker. Getting these young developing guys onto the court for some on the job training is what drove us all crazy when Flip would stick with the "vets" so often and leave the "future" on the bench for "has beens" or "never was" players.

While the wins against the Bobcats aren't impressive to me, it's what I see on the court that makes me feel better about the direction of the franchise then I had in the previous month of the season. Nobody likes to lose, but the only real loses are the one's where there's no growth and no learned experiences. That's what we saw with Flip. The team was suffering from nightly beat downs and not improving along the way. I know the Wizards are going to lose a lot of games this season, but if Wittman continues to stick to playing 10 guys a night, giving the young guys some much needed experience, and use their best abilities to the team's advantage (like running), I'll be okay with the direction of the team this season, despite the likely losses piling up.

The Wizards are built for speed, not comfort (as in half court offense). They have youth and depth in spades, they have off the chart athleticism. Ernie Grunfeld hasn't drafted (or traded) bad players, but they are what they are and asking them to do something they're not good at was a mistake. It's a good thing that Randy Wittman seems to get it and we'll actually get a chance to see what type of players Ernie Grunfeld has drafted in a system that fits their talents.. Maybe Wittman was right when he said that he and Flip were "opposites". Thank goodness!