99 Problems (But a Witt Ain’t One)

Randy Wittman: Stil at the Helm

The Timberwolves are in The District tonight for a 7 PM tilt against the Wizards. Andy G is here. We’ll be courtside.

The Wolves have a bunch of problems right now, which came to a head Wednesday against the Nets. For those joining us in progress, let’s recap:

• The team is ravaged by injuries and has been playing shorthanded with 10 players, two of whom are on 10-day contracts
• When the team’s franchise player isn’t chirping the front office, he’s posting his Lakers man-crush to his Instagram account
• The head coach is out indefinitely for personal reasons and shows no indication he’ll be returning
• The head coach’s replacement is in over his head and has already alienated the team’s franchise point guard
• The POBO was on the radio this morning (Teaser: If we find out tonight that Kevin Love has re-broken his hand a third time, this time he probably did it punching a wall after hearing Kahn’s comments about him on KFAN.)

Unsurprisingly, the Wolves have been losing a lot, going just 2-9 since Kevin Love’s injury forced him out of the lineup.

A silver lining for the Wolves heading into tonight’s game in DC…

 …is that Randy Wittman is roaming the Wizards’ sideline, not the Wolves’. As disheartening as Terry Porter’s run has been so far,  there’s basically an end in sight. Someone else – Adelman or otherwise – will be on the Wolves sideline next year. 

It isn’t clear that the same will be true in DC. The ‘Zards have a couple promising young players in John Wall and Brad Beal, but their ship is  sinking as long they keep Witt at the wheel.

You’d have a hard time finding a worse fit than Witt; young stars like Wall and Beal who’ve been coddled their whole lives just aren’t receptive to his Bobby Knight-style antics. Just ask Kevin Love.

True, the ‘Zards have been playing better since Wall’s return, but it’s only a matter of time before they start tuning out Witt’s screaming and tirades. He just doesn’t have the credibility to make that work for very long.

Fortunately for the Wiz, coaches are easier to change than players, and there will certainly be better candidates available after the season. We’ll see if Ted Leonsis takes advantage.

For tonight, the Wolves will again be shorthanded. TP will be running the show. Wall and Beal will be difficult matchups. It’ll be a tough game.

Wolves fans can only hope that Wittman matches Porter, mistake-for-mistake.