Marcin Gortat Polish Hammer appreciation thread.

[benb331]

I love what Gortat has brought to this team in year 2013-14. But he has played like an absolute turd this series. Makes me question bringing him back for a fat contract in the offseason. I'm not quite on board with all the Durant / Melo / whoever superstar save-the-cap pipe dreams. But I question dedicating cap room to the guy. He had a couple nice slap-bounds at the end, but I just wonder. He's a bit long in the tooth. The slick PnR we saw all season was shutdown this series (albeit by the best defense in the league). He was manhandled while playing defense. I love his personality and his grittiness and nasty Polish Hammer attitude. I just dunno . . . dunno about the future of Marcin Gortat as a Wizard.

Obviously, with Ernie "earning" his inevitable extension, Marcin will be brought back. It's a typical Grunfeld move. I guess I should resign myself to Gortat playing the remainder of his semi-productive career as a Wizard. Just am not convinced that it's the best medium/long term move for the franchise.

[Hypnotizer]

Gortat 1-5 FG, only 2 points but still best +/- (+9) thanks to 13 rbs and 3 bl and good defense.

[CntOutSmrtCrazy]

Count me in in wanting to absolutely bring Gortat back. Dude has a couple of off offensive games and people want to get rid of a guy from all accounts is a genuinely good guy, good locker room guy, rebounds well, plays better defense then most give him credit for, and is more than an adequate offensive player.

[Youheardme90]

I love what Gortat has brought to this team in year 2013-14. But he has played like an absolute turd this series. Makes me question bringing him back for a fat contract in the offseason. I'm not quite on board with all the Durant / Melo / whoever superstar save-the-cap pipe dreams. But I question dedicating cap room to the guy. He had a couple nice slap-bounds at the end, but I just wonder. He's a bit long in the tooth. The slick PnR we saw all season was shutdown this series (albeit by the best defense in the league). He was manhandled while playing defense. I love his personality and his grittiness and nasty Polish Hammer attitude. I just dunno . . . dunno about the future of Marcin Gortat as a Wizard.

Obviously, with Ernie "earning" his inevitable extension, Marcin will be brought back. It's a typical Grunfeld move. I guess I should resign myself to Gortat playing the remainder of his semi-productive career as a Wizard. Just am not convinced that it's the best medium/long term move for the franchise.

Can you name an adequate replacement ?

[Illmatic21]

I love what Gortat has brought to this team in year 2013-14. But he has played like an absolute turd this series. Makes me question bringing him back for a fat contract in the offseason. I'm not quite on board with all the Durant / Melo / whoever superstar save-the-cap pipe dreams. But I question dedicating cap room to the guy. He had a couple nice slap-bounds at the end, but I just wonder. He's a bit long in the tooth. The slick PnR we saw all season was shutdown this series (albeit by the best defense in the league). He was manhandled while playing defense. I love his personality and his grittiness and nasty Polish Hammer attitude. I just dunno . . . dunno about the future of Marcin Gortat as a Wizard.

Obviously, with Ernie "earning" his inevitable extension, Marcin will be brought back. It's a typical Grunfeld move. I guess I should resign myself to Gortat playing the remainder of his semi-productive career as a Wizard. Just am not convinced that it's the best medium/long term move for the franchise.

You said it yourself, we were playing the #1 defense in the league. Gortat is a guy who looks great against finesse bigs, but doesn't like to bang with more physical/tough bigs. Fortunately, there are a lot more finesse bigs than physical bigs which is why Marcin has such value. Chicago with Noah + Gibson are about as scrappy a frontcourt as you'll see in the league. I'm not surprised that Gortat shrank a bit in the series.

But look at what Marcin did the last 2-3 months of the season:
http://espn.go.com/nba/player/gamelog/_ ... cin-gortat


The guy gives you above average production against 95% of the frontcourts in the league. From a defense standpoint, he was statistically one of the best rim protectors in the league.

Additionally, Gortat is an elite p&r big man, which is why we can't afford to let him go imo. If we brought in some lead-footed center like Greg Monroe, he might help us as a post scorer but Wall's (and even Beal's) effectiveness as a playmaker would go way down. Gortat has worked with Wall and Beal a lot on the p&r, if they continue to develop chemistry together it can become a really effective weapon for us moving forward.

Gortat isn't young, but he's a workout warrior who stays in great shape, is rarely injured, and actually has surprisingly few NBA minutes on his body because of his years as a backup (including playoffs, only ~11,300 career minutes played - Joakim Noah is 1yr younger but already at ~16,000). It wouldn't surprise me to see him be effective for the duration of a 3 year contract.

[Ruzious]

I'm concerned about how Gortat matches up with Atlanta. They spread the floor so well that you really need someone quick enough at center to bounce out to cover the perimeter and then get back to protect the basket.

[Illmatic21]

I'm concerned about how Gortat matches up with Atlanta. They spread the floor so well that you really need someone quick enough at center to bounce out to cover the perimeter and then get back to protect the basket.

Atlanta doesn't have some elite offensive attack. They're a sub-.500 team. They're making the Pacers look bad because Indy has no team chemistry or effort. That won't be our problem.

Also, keep in mind that Gortat is much better than any of the Pacers bigs atm. Hibbert is a complete stiff - he's basically been a net negative on the floor. If you switch Hibbert with Gortat, I bet Indy wins that series.

[fishercob]

I'm concerned about how Gortat matches up with Atlanta. They spread the floor so well that you really need someone quick enough at center to bounce out to cover the perimeter and then get back to protect the basket.

He is going to absolutely destroy them in the pick and roll. Indy has no pick and roll game to speak of, so it hasn't been an issue. With the exception of Millsap (who Nene and Booker will cover), none of ATL's stretch bigs can put the ball on the floor. Gortat will be fine against Antic, Scott, etc, and will thoroughly abuse them on offense.

[nate33]

I'm concerned about how Gortat matches up with Atlanta. They spread the floor so well that you really need someone quick enough at center to bounce out to cover the perimeter and then get back to protect the basket.

He is going to absolutely destroy them in the pick and roll. Indy has no pick and roll game to speak of, so it hasn't been an issue. With the exception of Millsap (who Nene and Booker will cover), none of ATL's stretch bigs can put the ball on the floor. Gortat will be fine against Antic, Scott, etc, and will thoroughly abuse them on offense.

Exactly.

Hibbert is horrible against Atlanta because he isn't an offensive threat, and his defensive ability is neutered because Antic is a stretch-five who draws Hibbert out of the lane. Gortat most definitely IS an offensive threat.
Antic is going to get taken to school.

My biggest concern with Atlanta is keeping Teague out of the lane. Wall is going to have to lock-in defensively.

[fishercob]

I'm concerned about how Gortat matches up with Atlanta. They spread the floor so well that you really need someone quick enough at center to bounce out to cover the perimeter and then get back to protect the basket.

He is going to absolutely destroy them in the pick and roll. Indy has no pick and roll game to speak of, so it hasn't been an issue. With the exception of Millsap (who Nene and Booker will cover), none of ATL's stretch bigs can put the ball on the floor. Gortat will be fine against Antic, Scott, etc, and will thoroughly abuse them on offense.

Exactly.

Hibbert is horrible against Atlanta because he isn't an offensive threat, and his defensive ability is neutered because Antic is a stretch-five who draws Hibbert out of the lane. Gortat most definitely IS an offensive threat.
Antic is going to get taken to school.

My biggest concern with Atlanta is keeping Teague out of the lane. Wall is going to have to lock-in defensively.

Teague will find his way into the lane. The key is to make him a passer -- to keep him from getting uncontested shots at the rim. We'll do a better job on Teague than Indy has.

[blazinskillz]

Lol some wizards fans amazes me. Gortat was a big step in the right direction, letting him walk for who? I really love the chemistry he and Webster provides to the younger players. Letting him go would mean a lot to the team.

Sent from my SM-G900T using RealGM Forums mobile app

[Rafael122]

He pretty much won this game for us with those 3 offensive rebounds late in the game, he wanted it more. He needs to be re-signed. Okafor would be ideal as a backup.

[benb331]

Can you name an adequate replacement ?

RE: this post and Illmatic/others' responses

All good points. I cannot name a good replacement, and I did witness Marcin's regular season stand-out performance. He's an integral part of the team, and I do actually want him back. Was just drunkenly rambling about my hesitation and noting that his performance wasn't up to snuff in the series. He was a liability against the Bulls. Perhaps he'll fare better against other competition.

As far as resigning him, I don't see a good alternative available - and it's no guarantee he'll be back, UFA right?

I will say though that some posters are falling hard for Sunk Cost Fallacy. Whether managing projects, a business, or a sports team - you cannot put such emphasis on past work or spent costs when logically evaluating the proper path for the future.

EDIT: Just realized I'm not exactly appreciating Marcin in the Gortat Appreciation Thread. I can't overstate how much I appreciate good basketball from the entire team, and our starting center - among the best in the league - is one of the key reasons I've been delighted to watch the team this year. Thanks Marcin!!!

[CntOutSmrtCrazy]

He pretty much won this game for us with those 3 offensive rebounds late in the game, he wanted it more. He needs to be re-signed. Okafor would be ideal as a backup.

This! Gortat may have not had a great offensive series shooting wise but he still had his imprint on the series. He averaged 10.8 ppg 9.6 rpg (3.4 orpg; big in a series like the one we just played) 2.0 bpg 1.8 apg (good for a center). He had some big plays in game 1 (that missed Wall tip in comes to mind), held down the middle with Nene out in game 4, and had some crucial offensive boards last night.

If Oak came back, that would be awesome.

I'd take a rotation of Nene, Gortat, Booker, Okafor, and Serphin.

[nate33]

Can you name an adequate replacement ?

RE: this post and Illmatic/others' responses

All good points. I cannot name a good replacement, and I did witness Marcin's regular season stand-out performance. He's an integral part of the team, and I do actually want him back. Was just drunkenly rambling about my hesitation and noting that his performance wasn't up to snuff in the series. He was a liability against the Bulls. Perhaps he'll fare better against other competition.

C'mon now. "Liability" is an awful strong word. Gortat struggled to finish around the rim against the Bulls. Other than that, he was rock solid - grabbing boards and protecting the rim all series long.

[benb331]

Can you name an adequate replacement ?

RE: this post and Illmatic/others' responses

All good points. I cannot name a good replacement, and I did witness Marcin's regular season stand-out performance. He's an integral part of the team, and I do actually want him back. Was just drunkenly rambling about my hesitation and noting that his performance wasn't up to snuff in the series. He was a liability against the Bulls. Perhaps he'll fare better against other competition.

C'mon now. "Liability" is an awful strong word. Gortat struggled to finish around the rim against the Bulls. Other than that, he was rock solid - grabbing boards and protecting the rim all series long.

My impression was that he struggled a bit on the boards, which I should've expected against Chicago. You're right that "liability" is way too harsh. The stats that were just posted were a bit surprising to me, didn't match what I thought I had seen in the game. View changed, backing off my criticism. I need to go back to the Get Happy thread .

[Nivek]

Can you name an adequate replacement ?

RE: this post and Illmatic/others' responses

All good points. I cannot name a good replacement, and I did witness Marcin's regular season stand-out performance. He's an integral part of the team, and I do actually want him back. Was just drunkenly rambling about my hesitation and noting that his performance wasn't up to snuff in the series. He was a liability against the Bulls. Perhaps he'll fare better against other competition.

C'mon now. "Liability" is an awful strong word. Gortat struggled to finish around the rim against the Bulls. Other than that, he was rock solid - grabbing boards and protecting the rim all series long.

This seems like one of those small sample size things. Gortat shot 11-18 -- 61% at-rim against the Bulls, which isn't all that good, especially considering that during the regular season, he shot 75%. But, the difference between his regular season performance and the series against the Bulls was three made shots.

[doclinkin]

RE: this post and Illmatic/others' responses

All good points. I cannot name a good replacement, and I did witness Marcin's regular season stand-out performance. He's an integral part of the team, and I do actually want him back. Was just drunkenly rambling about my hesitation and noting that his performance wasn't up to snuff in the series. He was a liability against the Bulls. Perhaps he'll fare better against other competition.

C'mon now. "Liability" is an awful strong word. Gortat struggled to finish around the rim against the Bulls. Other than that, he was rock solid - grabbing boards and protecting the rim all series long.

This seems like one of those small sample size things. Gortat shot 11-18 -- 61% at-rim against the Bulls, which isn't all that good, especially considering that during the regular season, he shot 75%. But, the difference between his regular season performance and the series against the Bulls was three made shots.

And was in large part credit to the Bulls' outstanding defense on John Wall. Their primary emphasis was choking off Johnny's options on either the drive or pass and forcing him into jumpshots. Gortat was going to have fewer P&R opportunities regardless with Nene back an playing well, putting Gortat in that garbageman role of clean-up underneath, but with Noah's ability to show/trap and recover, and Kirk's emphasis in cutting off the left-side passing lanes, Gorat's ability to catch easy passes for the roll to the rim for the finish were meagre to none.

I loved watching the Bull's defense. Really admirable, often stopping us 3-4 consecutive trips down the floor. I'm surprised we broke 100 the games we did, expected more games like the final one. And I'd love to see what if anything the Wiz learned from the series that might be applicable against other opponents. If we play Atlanta, can we choke off Teague's drives to the interior? Or is Nene not quite as mobile as Noah was. (And does the range of Antic/MIllsapp mean they have the answer that Nene provided us in breaking down that P&R blockade).

Yeah no knock on Gortat, he only got touches when he was directly under the basket, and his no-step jump and average hands do not give him the ability to finish easily in traffic without a rolling start. BUt few bigs really can finsih through contact underneath while doubled. And so if a slight hit in his FG% lowers league-wide perception of his value , well GREAT! Means we can re-ink him for a slightly more reasonable contract. Personally I definitely want him back.

[Hypnotizer]

[tweet]https://twitter.com/MrMichaelLee/status/461936215852605440[/tweet]

[tweet]https://twitter.com/MrMichaelLee/status/461936709329231872[/tweet]

[pineappleheadindc]

Okay, strictly as a fan, I'm hooked.

Re-sign Gortat. He's becoming a fave of mine.

Link to funny WP article on him: http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/dc- ... sports_pop