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Addressing Marcin Gortat’s Recent Slump and Shot Selection

By Ben Mehic

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The Washington Wizards haven’t been playing great basketball as of late. Marcin Gortat, in particular, hasn’t lived up to expectations this season.

After signing a 5-year/$60 million contract extension with the Wizards this past summer, most people expected Gortat to continue the level of play he displayed in the NBA Playoffs. Of course, that hasn’t been the case.

Gortat is averaging just slightly under 12 points and 8 rebounds per game this season, both of which are a decline from this past season. However, over the past five games, Gortat has posted a putrid 8 points and 7 rebounds per contest on less than 46 percent shooting.

For the Wizards to truly contend for an NBA Championship, they’re going to need Marcin Gortat to live up to his $13 million annual contract.

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So, why hasn’t he been doing so?

It’s simple: The Wizards aren’t putting Marcin Gortat in a position to succeed and his confidence has taken a major hit as a result.

Gortat is best when he’s utilizing the pick-and-roll along side John Wall, but we haven’t seen the Wizards go to that play nearly as often as they should this season.

Instead, the Wizards are forcing the ball into the post, isolating Marcin Gortat inside, and the results haven’t been pretty. Still, this isn’t just a problem that falls on the Wizards.

We’ve seen Gortat succeed with his back to the basket before. For instance, he had several dominant games against Roy Hibbert in the NBA semi-finals, where Washington ran similar plays for Gortat in the post. But, instead of trying to get him going through the post, Randy Wittman has to utilize Gortat in the pick-and-roll.

By letting him grow his confidence on pick-and-rolls, we’ll likely see his post-game improve as a result.

Take a look at this failed possession against the Charlotte Hornets last night.

Gortat is isolated in the post against Al Jefferson, who’s considered a rather weak defender, but ends up miserably missing a simple hook shot.

Again, while Gortat is known as a pick-and-roll big man, he should be able to make this shot. He hasn’t been comfortable with his back to the basket and that needs to change. Honestly, as I’ve said on Twitter numerous times, I’ve seen middle-school basketball players look more comfortable with the ball in the post than Marcin Gortat.

Last season, Marcin Gortat experienced similar problems, and complained about his shot selection:

"“I’m constantly drifting more and more away from the basket. Quite honestly, that’s not my game. I’m capable of making or two plays like that but I feel more comfortable underneath the basket,” Gortat said."

Not only is Marcin Gortat failing to score underneath the basket, but he’s beginning to drift more and more away from it. Take a look at this pick-and-pop play involving Wall and Gortat from last night’s game against Charlotte. Instead of rolling to the basket, Gortat chooses to drift away, settling for an uncontested 15-foot jump shot.

Not only is Gortat beginning to settle for outside shots, but he’s beginning to fade-away on his post shots. While he’s capable of hitting some fade-away jump shots from the post, he’s no Dirk Nowitzki.

Here’s another possession from last night’s game, showing how Gortat settled for a fade-away after initiating a post move.

The perimeter players cleared out for Gortat, isolating him in the post, and the Washington Wizards ended up with a fade-away jump shot for the possession:

People will continue to point the finger at the Washington Wizards for not putting Marcin Gortat in a position to succeed, and rightfully so, but he has find a way to score over smaller defenders in the post. In the picture above, Marvin Williams is defending him in the post, yet Gortat still settles for a fade-away jump shot. That’s a problem.

Washington continued to run that same play for Gortat in the second half, and the results didn’t change.

Here’s another isolation play the Wizards ran for Gortat against Al Jefferson. Instead of backing Jefferson down in the post, Gortat faced up, took one dribble towards the basket, and airballed a fade-away jump shot.

Marcin Gortat isn’t Hakeen Olajuwon, but we’ve seen him make the shots he’s currently missing.

After the game against Charlotte, Bradley Beal talked about the team playing soft:

"“We haven’t been the same team that got up and was physical and tough on them. We are pretty soft right now.”"

Big men set the tone for how physical the team plays. Marcin Gortat obviously isn’t setting a good example for the rest of the team. His lack of confidence permeates the entire roster. Gortat has to start playing with more physicality, instead of constantly settling for shots inside and out.

With that said, Wittman can’t continue running the same plays for Gortat, hoping something will miraculously change. We know Gortat is capable of making shots in the post, but that’s currently not working. Keeping him engaged with touches coming off pick-and-rolls is probably the key.

While it may seem like a major problem right now, like last year, I’m sure the Washington Wizards will figure it out.

Let’s just hope they figure it out soon.

All screenshots are via NBA.COM

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