@oheyijust
Statistically, this is one of Marcin Gortat’s worse years since he became a full-time starter once he joined the Phoenix Suns in the middle of the 2010-2011 season. He is only averaging 11.8 points per game and 8.5 rebounds per game this season. Both of those numbers are down form last season, which was before he earned his lucrative $60 million contact that would be earned over 5 years.
It’s not that Gortat isn’t giving the same effort that he gave last year, but some of the shots he was hitting last year just seem to not be bouncing his way this time around. His shooting percentage and free throw percentage are both up this year from last year, but his productivity has somehow fallen.
Being the teammate of only of the best interior passers in the league, Nene, you would think that Marcin would be getting a lot of easy baskets on the inside. Instead of going inside for an easy look like he did last year, Marcin seems to settle a lot more for an outside shot.
Nene’s foul trouble in February also allowed for opposing defenses to focus more on Gortat once Nene has to sit on the bench. When both were playing, defenses had to pay close attention to both, but with Nene in foul trouble, teams were able to sag off whichever big came off the bench. Keeping Nene out of foul trouble will lead to easier baskets for Gortat, which will lead to the production Wizards fans are expecting from their $60 million man.
As long as Gortat is able to get out of his funk by playoff time, the Wizards should expect their big man to be as successful as he was for large chunks of last season. When his production returns, the production from the rest of the team should rise back to what it was in earlier parts of the season. The Polish Hammer will bounce back from this cold spell, and should return to $60 million form by the time playoffs come.
