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Former Magic Center Marcin Gortat Needs to Step Up for Wizards Saturday

By Brett David Roberts

Apr 27, 2015; Washington, DC, USA; Washington Wizards center Marcin Gortat watches from rink side during the Washington Capitals game against the the New York Islanders in the first period in game seven of the first round of the 2015 Stanley Cup Playoffs at Verizon Center. The Capitals won 2-1, and won the series 4-3. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports
Apr 27, 2015; Washington, DC, USA; Washington Wizards center Marcin Gortat watches from rink side during the Washington Capitals game against the the New York Islanders in the first period in game seven of the first round of the 2015 Stanley Cup Playoffs at Verizon Center. The Capitals won 2-1, and won the series 4-3. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports /
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Former Orlando Magic center Marcin Gortat is vital for the Washington Wizards if they are to defeat the Atlanta Hawks this postseason.

Former Orlando Magic center, Marcin Gortat finished No. 10 in the NBA in blocks last season and No. 3 in the league this year in field goal percentage. Along with Nene Hilario, he forms a rugged Wizards frontcourt. A post duo that is quite unmatched for their toughness and defensive strength in the rest of the Eastern Conference.

Gortat posted a 18.28 Player Efficiency Rating this year while averaging 12.2 points, 8.7 rebounds and 1.3 blocks per game. He has grown from his backup days in Orlando and is regarded as one of the better centers both offensively and defensively with pick and rolls.

In the Playoffs, the Gortat scored 1.41 points per possession as the roll man, making 11 of his 14 attempts in that situation. During the regular season, the he scored 1.01 points per possession, making 53.7 percent of his shots in that situation. This is all to say, he remains one of the most effective roll men in the league. His points per possession as a roll man was sixth among players with at least 200 such possessions.

Gortat is mobile, and he showed a lot of promise when relieving Dwight Howard in Orlando.

At times, Stan Van Gundy experimented with a twin-tower lineup, but it was never as effective as it seemed it should have been and always seemed to have a more “video game” feel to it than a functional unit offensively.

Eventually, Gortat would have to leave Orlando to ultimately fourish.

Rumors had surfaced that Gortat was considered valuable enough to net a high lottery pick in a trade, which was more an indication of his immense value around the league necessarily than a sign of a deal with legs. But Gortat was essentially auctioned off cheap when the Phoenix Suns knew Orlando was trying to resurrect its team with a familiar face.

He was basically let go at a fraction of his worth in the trade to bring Hedo Turkoglu back to Orlando in December 2010.

Accordingly, the Magic let go of Gortat, who has gone on to shine in Washington this season.

Since leaving Orlando, Gortat has averaged double figures for five straight seasons, while recording eight boards or more per game in each season, as well. He finally got his opportunity to start.

He is not one to take bad shots, and he has been better than 54 percent from the field in four of those five seasons.

Marcin Gortat, Washington Wizards, Orlando Magic
Feb 9, 2015; Washington, DC, USA; Washington Wizards center Marcin Gortat (4) shoots over Orlando Magic center Nikola Vucevic (9) during the first quarter at Verizon Center. Mandatory Credit: Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports /

Even with the Magic, Gortat scored when he was given the rock, and his per-36 numbers from that period attest to what his upside could have been, had the Magic decided to go with him as a starter. In the 2010 season, he tallied 14.5 points, 11.2 rebounds and 1.6 blocks per-36 but saw just a fraction of that time in games (13.4 minutes) thanks to Dwight Howard’s amazing record of health.

This year, Gortat had 12 points, 12 rebounds and two assists in Game One as the Wizards upset the Hawks.  In the Game Two loss, he had 10 points, nine boards and turned it over three times before fouling out. Washington and Gortat both struggled without point guard John Wall as the series was tied 1-1 heading to Washington, D.C.

While Gortat was 5 of 10 from the floor, he was not getting his usual easy looks that result from his pick and rolls with Wall, and he has not had a “big game” since April 24 against the Raptors when he scored 24 points, grabbed 13 rebounds, while also dishing out five assists and blocking four shots in a Wizards 106-99 win.

Gortat is going to have trouble replicating that effort with regularity. Nene scored just two and was very ineffective in Game Two, leaving a big gap for the Wizards offensively without their post players contributing.

Gortat is a true seven-footer, and he is an above-average athlete. He has had a nice NBA career and it was nice the Magic were able to help him get it started behind Dwight Howard.

Now this is Gortat’s time to shine and contribute to his own team. Gortat and the Wizards will take on the Hawks on Saturday at 5 p.m. on ESPN.

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