HOUSTON - If anything, Timberwolves coach Randy Wittman has higher expectations for his point guards than even Dwane Casey did, which had some season-long dissatisfaction bubbling to the surface before, during and after the 105-77 loss to the Rockets Monday.
Neither starter Mike James nor backup Randy Foye has run the point to Wittman's liking, at least not on a consistent basis, in the two weeks since Wittman took over for Casey as head coach. It's not so much that there's been a dropoff; there just hasn't been the improvement, the assertiveness and the confidence that the Wolves expected by now.
After the team's morning shootaround, it even sounded -- despite talks Wittman has had with the two -- as if there's a disconnect between what he wants and what the players think they're giving.
"I can't call every play and I don't want to call every play," the coach said, about 10 hours before the situation got worse. "I don't want us to be a team that walks it up the floor and they look at me for every call. I give them a couple of things I want them to concentrate on from time to time. They've got to show to me that, when we're not in anything, 'Here's two things that Coach wants us to look at,' and get us into that.
"We're not doing that right now. We have too many possessions where we're coming down, we're just kind of ... playing."
James, signed with the idea that he might be a Sam Cassell-like player (part scorer, part playmaker), said moments later that he and Foye have been doing what Wittman wants. He admitted that, like a driver behind the wheel of a new car, it took some time to learn the controls, but he insisted that he's now fine.
"I know where my buttons are," James said. "I know where my all-wheel drive, windshield wipers, wiper fluid are. ... It took a lot of time. But it's cool."
What's the best option on the Wolves' "car?"Hydraulics," James said.
Hydraulics?
Foye, the rookie from Villanova, still is learning NBA point guard duties. His refusal to get rattled while he learns on the job has kept his confidence high. It showed in his reaction to Wittman's comments.
"I've been running the plays since October, so I know what they want," Foye said. "I look at it like this: If the plays that we do call out there, the guys were making shots ... it wouldn't be a problem. Me and Mike would probably be looked at as running the offense real good. Since we're struggling right now, he told us from the beginning that a lot of pressure would be on the point guards. So everybody's looking at us now, because me and Mike, we're out there, controlling the tempo of the game and bringing the ball up."
Wittman said that, if one or the other gave more of what he wants, that guard would earn the playing time. James averages 28.5 minutes, Foye 20.8.
Etc.
• The Wolves managed six offensive rebounds -- or fewer -- in three of the four meetings with Houston.
• Minnesota's 30 points at halftime was a season-worst, as was its 15-point first quarter.
Steve Aschburner • saschburner@startribune.com
wolves/nba
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