Times truly are tough for the Timberwolves: Even the coach is on the injured list.
Timberwolves coach Randy Wittman missed Tuesday night's game against the Los Angeles Lakers and today will have back surgery, an operation that, like more than one of his players, is expected to keep him sidelined until at least this weekend.
Wittman's return to the bench will be determined after today's surgery. In his absence, assistant coach Jerry Sichting will coach the team.
"I've finished up a couple of games, but I haven't started out coaching an NBA game," said Sichting, an 11-year NBA assistant coach. "I've coached a lot of summer-league games, but this is a little bit different."
Wittman said his back has gotten "progressively worse" and it clearly pained him Saturday night, when the Wolves lost by 29 points in Memphis. He missed Monday's practice to visit the doctor and he said immediate surgery was recommended in order for him to coach the remainder of the season.
Sichting talked with Wittman by telephone throughout Tuesday and told Wittman he could keep his cell phone with him on the bench.
"With the technology we have today, he could just text message me during the game if he wanted to," Sichting said. "But that probably won't work out too well."
Sichting said the coaching would be done "by committee" with fellow assistants Bob Ociepka, Ed Pinckney and J.B. Bickerstaff. He feigned comfort knowing he'd look down the sidelines Tuesday and see opposite him Lakers coach Phil Jackson, who has won nine NBA titles.
"Good thing the guy doesn't have much experience," Sichting said.
Missing Marko
Starting point guard Marko Jaric missed his second consecutive game because of a sprained ankle and foot he said felt better on Tuesday. He said he expected to return to play this week.
"It was so painful when it happened, I thought it was something more dangerous," he said. "It's so frustrating because I started feeling really, really confident. This is a really bad time for this."
Jaric's absence again put the major load of minutes upon Sebastian Telfair, the team's only remaining healthy natural point guard. Sichting will use Greg Buckner to back up Telfair.
Under the weather
Lakers young center Andrew Bynum didn't play Tuesday, but Kobe Bryant did. Both players missed the team's morning shootaround at Target Center because of the stomach flu.
The Wolves didn't see Bynum, the player who was central to any trade discussions the two teams had last summer for Kevin Garnett.
"He's going to be a player," Sichting said. "I don't see him practice every day, but if he's got any kind of work ethic, he has a world of talent. He's a big dude in there. He can get above the rim and he takes up a lot of space. He has a chance to be a real good player."
Back in the day
Wolves forward Craig Smith grew up in Los Angeles, where he was a huge Lakers fans during the franchise's "Showtime" era. He was asked Tuesday if he often reminds Kevin McHale, the Wolves vice president of basketball operations, about Game 4 of the 1987 NBA Finals, when Magic Johnson lofted a winning hook shot over McHale's outstretched hand with two seconds left.
"Yeah, that was a tough one," Smith said. "He gets a little mad at that."
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