Bobcats at Wizards
THE STORY: It only took 17 games for the Washington Wizards to run their coach out the door. The Wizards will be under the guidance of Randy Wittman on Wednesday when they host the Charlotte Bobcats. Owners of the worst record in the NBA and a young core that does not seem to be advancing, Washington let go of head coach Flip Saunders on Tuesday and replaced him with assistant Wittman. “I felt like, at this time our players were not responding and we needed a different voice,” Wizards general manager Ernie Grunfeld said. Wittman was realistic about his chances of success. “I’m not the miracle-maker here,” he said. “We’ve got to change our outlook on how we play.” The Bobcats offer Wittman a great chance to get off to a winning start. Charlotte has dropped five straight and is coming off a 111-78 home loss to the New York Knicks on Tuesday. The Bobcats are one of the worst defensive teams in the league, allowing an average of 101.7 points.
TV: 7 p.m. ET, SSO (Charlotte), CSW (Washington)
ABOUT THE BOBCATS (3-15): Charlotte is ahead of only one team in the East - Washington. The Bobcats have allowed at least 95 points in each of their last eight games and are getting out-worked on the inside, where they are regularly outrebounded. They were beaten up on the boards, 53-33, on Tuesday. Coach Paul Silas has sacrificed size for quickness with rookie Kemba Walker taking on a bigger role. The UConn product has reached double figures in scoring in six of the last seven games.
ABOUT THE WIZARDS (2-15): Saunders had posted a 51-130 record in two-plus seasons with Washington but was being judged on his ability to develop young players like John Wall, Nick Young, JaVale McGee and Andray Blatche. If anything, that core has taken a step back this season, ranking near the bottom of the league in offense, defense, rebounding and assists. Wall has seen his shooting percentage, points, steals and assists go down while his turnovers have gone up in his second season.
BUZZER BEATERS:
1. The teams split four meetings last season.
2. Wall averaged 15.7 points and nine assists in three games against Charlotte in 2010-11.
3. Wittman owns a 100-207 career record as a head coach with the Cleveland Cavaliers and Minnesota Timberwolves.