K. Seraphin: "I seized the opportunity"

Wizards’ forward Kevin Seraphin was invited on this week’s Tony Parker Show. The French player talks about his new role in Washington and expects great things playing alongside Nene in the paint.

You are playing great lately? How is everything going?

Everything is going really well. The guys believe in me now, my coach trusts me. I’m playing on attack and on defense. It’s all good!

After a terrible start of the season, the Wizards fired Flip Saunders in January. Randy Wittman is now the new head coach. What did it change for you?

First of all, the new coach brought discipline back to the team. We weren’t playing basketball anymore. Now, things have changed. There are more interior plays. The team also made some trades and I’m a starter now. You don’t have many opportunities like that in the NBA. I’m glad I seized it.

Are your teammates looking at you differently now?

Yes for sure! John (Wall) told me he was going to give me the ball in the post more often. He believes I can make the right choices on the court now.

What about the small incident you had with Marcus Camby recently (the two players got tangled up battling for rebounding position during a recent game against Portland)?

Well, it’s pretty simple. He pushed me and I answered. Then Nico (Batum) came to break us up. I received a technical foul, he was ejected. I tried to calm myself after that because I didn’t want to be ejected too.

Do you think that you can make a good duo with Nene?

Totally. He’s a player who can create space because he draws so many double teams. That will give me more shot opportunities and I really think we can be a good duo in the paint for the Wizards. 

What are the Wizards missing this season?

We are making too many mistakes. That’s because we are still a young team. We also need to be better on defense. And we lack a true small forward.

How are you going to handle the time between the end of the NBA season and the Olympics?

On the 26th of April, I’ll be on vacation. But I’m not planning on resting. Like I did last year, I’m going to stay in Washington with my physical trainer. Then I’ll go to Paris. I’m going to keep working on my game.

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