Article: How high is Gortat's ceiling?

[DRK]

How high is Gortat's ceiling? Hopefully high enough that he doesnt bump his head on the roof.

[TASTIC]

I don't see him as an All Star at any point really...if he starts next year and gets 32mins he should do a double double, maybe 14 and 10...perhaps a Drew Gooden type guy, but potential to be 16 and 11 if he gets the touches - so Kaman, as others have said

[MarJJMar]

Odds are that if Gortat ever averages 15/10 that his scoring average would be higher than the teams win total.

[Wannabe MEP]

@ MarJJMar

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yv-Fk1PwVeU[/youtube]

[MrMiyagi]

He will be an all star next year. I don't see 10 centers in the NBA doing what he's doing right now. Even against average centers because their aren't many good centers in the league. What centers does he have to go against in the west that are all stars.

Yao- made of glass
Kaman- unpredictable
Bynum- always hurt
Chandler- average offensive player at best
Oden- look at Bynum

Might want to add Cousins to who he's up against. Possibly Pau Gasol (he's a 4, but sometimes they list him as a 5), Al Jefferson has had a pretty good season. Marc Gasol might drop some bigger numbers next season if Zbo leaves.

All that being said, I still think he'll slip in as an all star, just won't be there every year.

[TASTIC]

^Odds of him being an All star are slim to none...for starters, he won't have the fan support/exposure as other players...and nothing against Poland, they aren't China...Look at the guys who missed out this year in both conferences - Josh Smith, Zach Randolph, Al Jefferson, Paul Millsap, LMA etc. And he's NEVER going to get a C vote ahead of Bynum...

[realsunsfan]

He may never get voted in by the fans as a starter, but if continues to improve and play like he has lately he stands a good chance and being put in by the coaches as a reserve.

[Frank Lee]

Who cares about this speculative crap ???? Mark West was the best center we have had in decades, and he was never an all star. DirtyKurt was sufficient during his tenure.

Just having an average center is a plus in Phnx.

[impulsenine]

Who cares about this speculative crap ???? Mark West was the best center we have had in decades, and he was never an all star. DirtyKurt was sufficient during his tenure.

Just having an average center is a plus in Phnx.

We can dream!

[Wannabe MEP]

Dears - You need to consider one thing - he started playing basketball in 2002.. so I think he really did tremendous progress and if stay at the level he's currently it will be a huge achievement

Wow. I didn't realize that. Incredible.

Yep. Before, he was a soccer goalkeeper.

Or this. That makes sense. He's such a focused, mobile defender. And then it's all business: he always locks in again immediately after making a play.

More and more, I'm believing in Gortat as the answer for this team. As in, Gortat is an upgrade over Amare.

Amare:
10/10 offensively
4/10 defensively

Gortat:
7/10 offensively
9/10 defensively

Gortat at 16 > Amare at 14 (and for bigs, defensive excellence is more important than offensive excellence)

I'm sure people will disagree with my numbers up there, but I'm curious: which ones??

[YFZblu]

I'm sure people will disagree with my numbers up there, but I'm curious: which ones??

I don't think Amar'e is a 10 offensively--but if you were just using that as a benchmark to gague where Gortat is offensively, then I wouldn't disagree.

I do agree with your overall point though, that GOATat is potentially better for this team than Amar'e was. For instance, I once made the point on the General board that Anderson Varejao was more important to the Lebron James Cavs than Amar'e was to the Nash Suns...I was flamed obviously, but there is significantly more to basketball than ferocious dunks and smooth jump shooting.

[Wannabe MEP]

I don't think Amar'e is a 10 offensively--but if you were just using that as a benchmark to gague where Gortat is offensively, then I wouldn't disagree.

Not 10 as in: the most perfect offensive player ever. 10 as in: the perfect offensive skill-set for our system. Nash's perfect pick-and-roll partner.

Offensively, I can't think of who would be better. The problem, of course, is defense.

I do agree with your overall point though, that GOATat is potentially better for this team than Amar'e was. For instance, I once made the point on the General board that Anderson Varejao was more important to the Lebron James Cavs than Amar'e was to the Nash Suns...I was flamed obviously, but there is significantly more to basketball than ferocious dunks and smooth jump shooting.