Should the Orlando Magic Worry about Marcin Gortat's Performance so far This Season?
by Evan Dunlap on Dec 6, 2010 8:01 AM EST
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PrintAs Andrew Bogut continued to befuddle Marcin Gortat in the low post Saturday night, Philip Rossman-Reich of Orlando Magic Daily observed Gortat "has the look of a tired, frustrated player." Bogut scored 31 points and grabbed 18 rebounds to lead the Milwaukee Bucks over a depleted Orlando Magic team, 96-85, ending Orlando's winning streak. Gortat played 35 minutes in defeat, starting in relief of the ill Dwight Howard. His poor performance prompted OPP user Matty B to wonder "what’s fact and what’s fiction with Gortat," and he likened the Polish Hammer to "a rubber mallet," especially with regard to his defense.
So, should the Magic worry about the performance of their backup center to date? The per-game numbers seem to say no: he's averaging career-highs in minutes (16.4), scoring (4.4), rebounding (5), assists (0.6), and free-throw shooting (73.3 percent). Even considering the stats inflation that comes with increased minutes, he's producing about what one might expect, though his 4-of-20 shooting from the floor from November 18th to December 1st might be cause for concern. Then again, his overall 54.3 percent shooting mark on the year, to me, is solid for a low-usage guy who lives on putbacks and dump-offs. Defensively, his shot-blocking is down, but the Magic are not even one point worse per 100 possessions on that end when he's on the court. Considering he tends to replace Dwight Howard, the league's best defender, that's solid.
But what have you guys seen from Gortat that I might be missing? Is his play on par with your expectations of him this season?
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I guess the stats don't lie when they say he hasn't disappointed that much
But it’s good I’m not the only one who agrees in saying he hasn’t looked the same. I can’t exactly pinpoint it – but in our championship run, when Dwight had to sit out due to injuries, suspensions, fouls, etc., he stepped up big time. It must’ve been the contract year.
I think it was one bad game, against Bogut, who is pretty decent.
But that’s my perspective.
"I'm a Rashard Lewis Apologist."
I also have it, on my own authority, that I am an expert on this stuff.
maybe in the league, unless you count Gasol
by nickswarriors16 on Dec 6, 2010 9:27 AM EST up reply actions
I consider Pau Gasol a power forward.
His brother Marc, however, is a center but I wouldn’t consider him as good as Howard and Bogut, not yet at least.
I'm a dude!
Orlando Pinstriped Post: Where game threads turn into online chat rooms.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qPlLyVuMf7U
I was being sarcastic by saying "decent," but it didn't come through. Sorry.
"I'm a Rashard Lewis Apologist."
I also have it, on my own authority, that I am an expert on this stuff.
Sorry??
What kind of apology is that?!?!?1
Proudly mocking the Disciples of Panic (some Magic fans) since October 29, 2010.
I'm not worried.
When healthy, Andrew Bogut is a top 5 Center (maybe 2nd best behind Dwight). Gortat just had a bad night and the Magic were drained since it was their 4th game played in 5 nights.
I'm a dude!
Orlando Pinstriped Post: Where game threads turn into online chat rooms.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qPlLyVuMf7U
by GameManager on Dec 6, 2010 9:20 AM EST reply actions 1 recs
I was just trying to say exactly this.
Not only was Gortat tired, but he had no backup. (“What about Malik Allen?”) If he fouls out, Bogut is unchallenged at all and the game gets out of hand even faster. So he had to play soft just to stay in the game, and was probably tired on top of that.
Stan said after the game (paraphrasing) that he thought Marcin could have competed harder, but that he was left out there without help and that fell on Stan. Not sure how to interpret that, though – was it, “Gortat did a less-than-perfect job of executing a less-than-perfect gameplan”, or was it, “Marcin wasn’t good and I should have known that.”
Either way, it’s a long season and that was a tough situation for Gortat to play in. I’d still rather have the Hammer as backup center than anyone else’s #2.
by loxodonta tuscaloosa on Dec 6, 2010 10:03 AM EST up reply actions
Twin towers
I feel like part of the lack of defensive regression with him on court has been because SVG has played Gortat and Howard a little bit more often this season. Do the numbers back that up? It also helps that Bass has improved so much defensively which helps the overall defensive efficiency of the second unit as well. These are just speculation of course, but I feel like they help clear up why it appears Gortat is in the same league defensively as Dwight. He makes mistakes fairly often on defense when I have watched this year. In some cases, he makes plays on defense that are so bad that Dwight is forced to sub back in when it is clear he is overmatched. This problem was of course highlighted against Bogut the other night. To me a lot of it seems to be effort on defense, but either way it seems like Gortat has done more to help than hurt this year. Either way, its been a pretty successful year thus far, and I dont want to be too much of a downer on a guy whos main role is just to give dwight a breather.
I would like to build on this post, which is sound on why Gortat's numbers seem comparable to last season.
The numbers, however, are hard to pin down on defensive end, and that is where Gortat has regressed while – as noted in the post – his deficiencies have been covered by Bass’ and Dwight’s performances. It seems to me that his energy level on both ends of the floor is not the same, as well although it is just a subjective assessment.
I do not find myself in agreement with the conclusion of the post since I think that competition-wise we had a relatively easy schedule but, in large, did not do so well against good teams, and sometimes struggled with non-significant teams. That, I have to admit, to do with defensive lapses and shooting woes, which have been corrected to a great extent in recent games.
I'm definitely dissapointed
He seems to have been making the same mistake over and over and over against Bogut… and also he lacked energy and defensive stance… I know he can be better so that’s why I’m dissapointed.
Evan...if you had posted this poll after the Pistons game, I can guarantee it would have come back overwhelmingly in the "He's done well" column. Timing is everything.
by The BBQ Chicken Madness on Dec 6, 2010 10:53 AM EST reply actions
While this is true to a certain extent, most rational people can take more than just "what have you done for me lately" into account. His defense this year has not been anywhere near as good as in past years.
His other numbers are statistically ok, but his rotations and coverage within the defensive system have been lacking, at best. He doesn’t seem quite as lost as Bass was last year, but his energy seems quite low, comparative to seasons past.
Rational people...on the internet?
Against the Pistons:
7-9 for 14 pts
4O/7D, for 11 total rebs
2 assists
1 stl, 1 chg drawn, 3 blocks
0 turnovers
I’d bet that if this post was after that game, with a poll that asked how he was doing, the “positive” choice would be up around 70-80%.
My comment was not a judgement on his performance this year, just noting that this poll is timed in a way that will give Gortat poor results.
by The BBQ Chicken Madness on Dec 6, 2010 12:08 PM EST up reply actions
on the other hand, timing this post after two games that Maricn got a start,
which is something that won’t happen again soon enough, seems like a good time to me.
Besides, all E.D. is saying is : “Some folks worry about Gortat, is there a raison according to his numbers :no, did he have one bad game :yes, can he do better: yes” which I assume you agree to.
Don't mind my spelling. I'm a Typo Master.
We pay him a lot. it is ok to expect more
I agree with this blog entry. It is ok to question Gortat’s play simply because the guy gets mad all the time when he doesn’t get PT. Well here is 35 minutes Marcin, you won’t get a lot of these opportunities. Hopefully next time he has a better outing.
Reading my posts is a privilege and I will ban anyone who disagrees with me from the Internet for life.
but...
Some things have changed this year. And this is true of some other guys too; they play better off each other. In other words: Some players, like Gortat, benefit from the play of specific players, like JJ in this case. JJ KNOWS how to do the PnR with Gortat and actually LOOKS for him when he has the ball. Ahhhh, but this year, with JJ struggling, he has not played that much so far. JJ has been erratic in his passing, as has most of his game, although he has improved the past couple of weeks.
There are players who do NOT play well with others, one example being Nelson. He NEVER passes the ball to Redick, even when he’s free. Gortat bread and butter is the PnR, but hardly anyone makes this play with him. Williams used to; but htis year it’s Duhon who leads the second unit, and he’s… well, he’s as confused as a cockroach in a hens party! He certainly does NOT play with Gortat either… That’s on offense.
On defense, there is no aparent reason for his lax play. He’s often OUT of position for defensive and offensive rebounds and late in his blocking too! It could be physical but I think is mostly mental: He’s not thinking ahead on the coming play, but rather reacting to it.
Regardless of the numbers and the reasons, I think he’s a LIABILITY for the future, not now in the regular season, but in the Playoffs, when the energy level, the sharpness really counts. He’s not going to help in our Championship quest… and the Magic should DO something about it, while he still has modest value in the market.
I know… the Magic NEED a backup center!
To me it’s sad… I was a fan of Gortat when he started playing and cheered for him when he broke out two years ago… I thought last year was a fluke.
Off topic: Does this diminish his trade value?
Just wondering, if we ever went down that road with Gortat.
" Astrotrain, transform and get us out of here! "~Starscream
Unless he plays bad defense the entire year I don't think his trade value will go down. I also think his defense will improve, though I have no real evidence to prove this.
His numbers are about the same as his career numbers. Defense isn’t quantified in those numbers though. He obviously is still capable, as he had a wonderful game against the Pistons (it was against the Pistons though…..not exactly the best front line). I have a feeling Stan will get on him if he continues to play poorly on defense. He might already be on him in practices and such.
Thanks Mark.
I am inclined to believe he just got abused by a much better center in Bogut.
I am just a casual fan, I enjoy reading others thoughts in a forum where I can ask my questions without being berated for lack of knowledge
" Astrotrain, transform and get us out of here! "~Starscream
by I KNOW IT ALL on Dec 6, 2010 12:13 PM EST up reply actions
The reason he was tentative...
…was because he was trying to avoid fouls. He had no real “backup”, since Allen was next in the depth chart. Imagine what kind of game we would have seen if Allen was matched up against Bogut for heavy portions of minutes.
That’s what was on his mind. I can’t say it’s not a fair thing to be worried about…though I do think he could have played him tighter than he did.
by The BBQ Chicken Madness on Dec 6, 2010 1:14 PM EST up reply actions 1 recs
Something is Up
It is really difficult to put a finger on what Gortat is doing wrong or what is up with him. I think we have raised expectations because he played well for Poland this past summer, he promised to come in ready to contribute more offensively and his contract is still pretty inflated.
Gortat could have (and should have) played much better against Bogut on Saturday. I think the points about foul trouble are valid and he was probably thinking way too much on defense (don’t have to do that against Ben Wallace).
There is still a lot of season left to play and I don’t think Gortat lost very much value. He is probably better suited for a bench role at this time.
Philip,
Orlando Magic Daily
OrlandoMagicDaily.com
Marcin Gortat is doing very well considering the minutes he gets. I always thought he should start w/ Howard and move rashard at the three. the Magic’s rebounding would be better and there will be less pressure on Howard on the defensive end.
by Jeffrey Thompson on Dec 6, 2010 12:50 PM EST reply actions
Agree
The most common NBA message board post is _____can’t play D. Defense is more about the system then the individual player. Everyone said Q sucked at D, Vince would suck, Rashard would suck, JJ would suck. Which somehow equtes to us having a top tier defense anyway.
Reading my posts is a privilege and I will ban anyone who disagrees with me from the Internet for life.
It took me 2 seconds to find a thread about how he "sucks"
2nd sentence in.
There are more of course, just figured I’d fire off a quickie for ya.
Reading my posts is a privilege and I will ban anyone who disagrees with me from the Internet for life.
It didnt let me post the link, but it was in inside hoops
Reading my posts is a privilege and I will ban anyone who disagrees with me from the Internet for life.
He's been OK.
I’m not ready to judge him on two starts this season—especially with such mixed results.
I looked forward to getting a look at him as a starter, since his value (ie. salary) is based on his ability to start for many teams around the league. Unfortunately, I didn’t get to see the games.
Any news on whether Dwight can go tonight? Horford should be a good test for Gortat.
Gortat has been good
He was playing on a back to back and he is used to only playing 10-15 minutes a game. Not going to make up a lot of excuses, but you go through lulls when you become a starter, unless your name is Dwight mother effing Howard. I just felt the need to use expletives in the name.
If you were a man I would punch you, right in the mouth.
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