Checking In With Coach Ociepka-Los Angeles

I would like to whole-heartedly thank Coach Ociepka for taking the time to check in with Wolves Hoops Blog while on this long and crazy trip for the Wolves. He certainly had more on his mind, but found the time after each game to check in and it is very much appreciated.

With that, the final Checking In With Coach Ociepka.

What does it say about this team at the end of a long road trip, taking a hit in the mouth in the fourth quarter and losing the lead, you were able to scrap and fight and were able to pull off a win?

Yeah, we did hang on to win that game. Coach Randy Wittman got his first win here in Los Angeles. It was a hard-fought win. They had changed from man to man to zone to start the fourth quarter, changing up their defense a little bit. Sometimes it takes a little bit to adjust to it. That was why they were able to take the lead, their zone defense. A timely timeout, getting guys on track, getting the ball moving from side to side and once we were able to establish that, we were able to get back on top. It was adjustments by the players on the floor. They got the ball inside better and, as a result, were able to put that game away.

Mike James has been playing better as of late. Can you speak on him some?

Mike came back into the game and played very well for us. He helped to lead the resurgence against the zone, he got the ball moving and was a big part of our attack. We are pleased with the way he came in and finished off the game. Randy Wittman will go with the guy that is playing the best and that’s the way it should be. Mike certainly did a good job for most of the night.

Marko Jaric is seeing more minutes lately. Is that due to his health improving or does Coach Wittman, in a sense, have more confidence in him then Coach Casey had?

It is partly due to his injury not being as bad as it was. We missed him in the games that he didn’t play in because he’s so versatile. He can play any of the 1, 2 or 3 positions and that gives us a good defensive matchup against guys, so we missed him when he was out. I think his playing is more about him being healthier and his minutes will stay steady as long as he’s productive and he certainly has been.

During this losing streak heading into the Clipper game, there are some fans who are jumping off the Wolves bandwagon, so to speak. What would you say to those fans as the season has just passed the halfway point?

For those fans, NBA games are hard to win. A lot of them go to the wire. There are a lot of one or two point swings that determine the game. I think the two losses in Portland and Seattle were very gut-wrenching, very tough, but we were in position to win both of them and felt that we should have won both of them. Sometimes things don’t go your way and that’s the way these NBA games are. What we are pleased with is the effort of these guys, they’re hanging together, they’re battling and their resilience shows in this win here in Los Angeles, coming back from two very tough losses. All we can ask them is to give the effort they are giving, play together and if we keep doing that things will pay off. Hopefully the fans will hang in with us, knowing that when there is a coaching change there is an adjustment period and it takes a little bit of time. I think the three games we’ve played under Coach Wittman, we were right there in position to win all three of them, we won this last one and now we get to come home and take on Phoenix.