Randy Wittman rips into Wizards following loss to Rockets

The Wizards erased a 25-point deficit in the game before blowing a late lead, and Wittman was especially upset with the team’s slow start, according to Adam Kilgore of The Washington Post:

“Listen,” Wittman said. “If we come out like we do at home, nonchalant, take it for granted, no sense of urgency, shortcut everything - which is what we did the first two-and-a-half quarters - until we hold each other accountable of what’s going on on the floor and get it corrected, that starts with me. But it also starts in the locker room, having some leadership in there. We just played the game. We shortcut everything. When you do that, you get down 25.”

Wittman wasn’t done with his criticism, saying the Wizards played like an AAU team when answering a question about Kevin Seraphin’s strong game:

“He gave us a big lift,” Wittman said. “But the main point is, at home here, we just have no - I don’t know what the term [is]. Sense of urgency of coming home and protecting home. And we don’t. We just go out and play like it’s an AAU game. Kevin came in and gave us a big lift. There’s no question he played well. One of his better games. But we’ve got to figure those other things out. There’s no excuse for the way we’re playing.”

The players didn’t disagree with Wittman’s assessment, and things did get heated during a team huddle in the third quarter on Saturday. That’s about when the Wizards’ comeback started, and Wittman believes the incident did help fire his team up.

However, the Wizards still lost, and they’ve dropped two in a row after a two-game winning streak. Washington has been on a season-long roller coaster ride, unable to find any type of consistency. This isn’t the first time Wittman has called out his players, as he used some colorful language to describe his team’s play in early November. The Wizards do hold the No. 6 seed in the awful Eastern Conference, but if things don’t improve, Wittman may find himself on the hot seat.

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