Postseason Grades: Marcin Gortat, Washington Wizards

It’s June, which means students everywhere are getting their final grades for their hard (or not-so-hard) work throughout the year. It’s not just students that can get graded on performance though. The offseason is a great time for us to analyze a full season of NBA players’ work, and decide if it was of high quality.

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Marcin Gortat has been with the Washington Wizards for two full years now, following a trade that got him placed in the nation’s Capitol. Now, he seems to be a face that is recognized as a Wizard, and a face, for the most part, that fans like to see and would like to see in Washington for at least a few more years.

Although the stats show Gortat had a good year, with 12.2 points per game and 8.7 rebounds per game, the now finished season hasn’t been the best year for Gortat. It was a year that featured a fine for flopping (certainly one of the most embarrassing types of fines), and an accidental score on the Brooklyn Nets‘ basket.

These are minor details of an 82 game long season, though. Let’s start off with what wasn’t great, and what should be adjusted for next season.

Balance

Overall, the focus of Gortat seems to be defending the key, and getting boards, on both sides of the floor. While these are both very important aspects of the game of basketball, scoring is what wins games. If you can’t contribute to that as a team member, the effectiveness of your contribution certainly comes into question.

Again, this isn’t to say that the immense focus of rebounding and defense that Gortat brings isn’t a positive, but balance is something that all basketball players should be looking towards achieving, and Gortat’s focus on scoring could use more. There’s no contesting that Gortat has a fantastic low post and mid-range shot, and I would love to see that utilized more.

It’s not all Gortat’s fault though. Plays must be drawn up more next season that give Gortat the ball in a position to score, and his teammates should be looking to get Gortat the ball.

Defending big men

Additionally, his defense on big men is not the best, especially for a power forward/center. While Gortat is a smaller “big man,” at 240 pounds and 6 feet 11 inches, he’s still listed as a center and power forward, and I’m sure for himself personally, he would love to perfect his skills in those roles, making himself the best player possible.

Particularly in mid-April when the Wizards went to face the Cavaliers, he had lots of trouble whenever Timofey Mosgov was in his area.

It seems to be a problem that existed just more than in this game. Gortat had trouble boxing out big guys in the key battling for rebounds all throughout the season, often seeming to get pushed around. It could be a simple fix, just hitting the gym more, or maybe a better technique to adopt that will help him box out bigger players.

There’s things wrong with every player’s game, including Gortat. However, there’s almost always things that go well as well. For Gortat, there’s a lot we can find to like.

Rebounding

Gortat was an excellent rebounder this season. It often didn’t matter what type of play it was, how developed it was, or the circumstances of who was in the key. Gortat always seemed to make sure he was crashing the boards, and that often positioned the Wizards well for transition offense, as well as giving them great looks at second-chance shots.

It wasn’t rare that Gortat had games with double-digit rebounds.

Check out his 13 rebounds (complemented as well by his 24 points) in this game against the Toronto Raptors.

Play awareness

Being aware of your surroundings is a great skill to possess, and more valuable than it’s often given credit in the NBA. This skill is one Gortat has. He certainly has been able to use this skill to compliment his rebounding as well, making sure his rebounds are not just useless grabs of the ball. There is much more to rebounding than simply obtaining the ball.

Utilizing a rebound is the next step. Sending the ball out to an outlet for a fast break, or passing to a cutting guard if it’s an offensive rebound is something that takes ball awareness. Gortat does both of these things with ease, and if another player isn’t available, he puts his own shot attempt up, and often, it goes in.

This awareness not only shows basketball IQ, but it shows his humility as he continues to look for ways to get his teammates involved in the play.

This also extends to more than just rebounds. Gortat is great off of picks, and rolls well to the basket for dunks or to lay it in. He can also cut on his own from time to time, a great skill that makes him a more versatile big man.

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