OrlandoMagic.com's Dan Savage Chats With Marcin Gortat
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June 8, 2010
OrlandoMagic.com’s Dan Savage sat down with Magic back-up center Marcin Gortat at the RDV Sportsplex on Monday to discuss his offseason plans, goals for next season and much more.
Savage: What are your plans for this offseason?
Gortat: "I have to probably play for my national team. I still do not know if I can play or not. I have to wait for the decision of Otis Smith and (Magic Head) Coach Stan Van Gundy. I have to talk to them about last season and talk to them about my situation for next year. I have a lot of responsibilities back in Poland. I promised to a lot of companies, foundations that I’m going to do a lot of promotional stuff, receptions and all kinds of things to help people in Poland. Besides that, I also have a lot of stuff going on with endorsers and sponsors and I have to be able to show up and perform and fulfill my obligations."
Savage: Do you want to play for your national team?
Gortat: "If I can play, I probably will, because that’s the best way to get better. But I know I have to find a month or two to sit down and work out with special coaches, who will work on my game and help me get better. That’s probably the most important thing for me as a basketball player."
Savage: I remember after you came back from playing with your national team last season, you said ‘It took you two months to recover.’ Is playing with them after a full season with the Magic taxing on the body?
Gortat: “It is (taxing on the body). I’m not going to lie, it is. You saw me the first two months of the season when I was totally mentally broken. I wasn’t able to play and perform at the highest level. So I am really considering quitting this year, if I am going to have the same results next year. I want to help the team and I want to be able to play from the first day and from the first game. I really don’t know what’s going to happen. I have to wait for Otis Smith’s decision and Coach Van Gundy’s decision. We’ll see what’s going to happen."
Savage: There are a lot of players who would use this time to just sit back and relax, but you’re here at the RDV Sportsplex today working out. What are you trying to accomplish by being here and what are you attempting to work on?
Gortat: "First thing, is to try and help people in this organization. Second thing, I want to get better. I want to come back next season and be stronger and do everything better than I used to. Last year, for me, was disappointing. Aside from the fact that the team did not win anything, my role was the same, but it didn’t really look like that. I had less post-up moves, less ball in the hand and I wasn’t able to do anything in the game. So next year, I want to come back and show everybody that I am able to do certain things on offense and I want to be a bigger part of what we do offensively."
Savage: What aspects of your game are you looking to improve?
Gortat: "My shooting. I think my shooting is the crucial thing. If I can consistently shoot 17 to 18-foot jumpers then I am going to be able to play as a four-man a little bit more. Like I said before, I don’t think there’s a problem with me playing there from a defensive standpoint. I’m pretty confident that I can defend most of the fours in the league and I definitely know the defensive rotations and the defensive schemes. But I have to improve my offensive game. I believe I have offensive game; I just have to show it."
Savage: In regards to grasping the defensive rotations, you’ve said that you believe you are one of the best on the team, correct?
Gortat: "I really do. I believe that I know all the calls and I know all the things we’re supposed to do. I pay attention to the little details. Obviously mistakes happen. We’re only humans, we’re not machines – well I am a machine (laughs) – but still when you’re talking about defensive rotations, I feel confident that I am pretty good."
Savage: What do you feel would be your perfect role on this team?
Gortat: "I feel that my perfect role would be to be the first sixth man coming off the bench as a four or five man and being the guy who is able to lift the team off the bench with scoring, defending and rebounding. (I want to be the guy) who is going to play 20 to 25 minutes a game. A guy who is going to help perform, stop someone and help the team."
Savage: What do you have to do to get there?
Gortat: "I just have to improve my game. I have to improve my shooting ability and just be consistent with that. If I am able to be consistent with my shooting, hit that 17 to 18-footer and be more aggressive then I really, really believe that I am going to be a four man next year. Maybe not start, but be a backup for (that position) as well and that will be a good thing for me."
Savage: When you look back on last season is there anything you wish you did differently?
Gortat: "Everything. After we finished the season, right after the game, I sat down and asked myself ‘what kind of season did I play? How did it happen that we lost in the Eastern Conference Finals? This team was built to win a championship, we lost and what did I do to help the team?’ Honestly, I said ‘I had exactly the same season like I had last year.’ I had a little drop in points, but I went up a little bit in blocks. Rebounds were pretty much the same. Everything was pretty much the same. I just realized that I had the same season. But then I came back home and after a couple of days I realized this season was (really bad) for me actually. My goal was to have bigger statistics, play better, have a bigger role on the team, be more aggressive on offense and I didn’t do any of those things. So I just realized that I had a (really bad) season, because I just played at the same level. So it kind of looks like I’m stuck in the same place and cruising at the same speed and in the same direction. I realized it was really bad for me. I as a player believe I have ambition to go further and do more. I just wanted to see myself way further along than I am now. So I believe it was a bad season for me and I will do everything different. I will be more aggressive, fight for my stuff a bit more – I didn’t want to make any problems – and I’ll just try to be honest and do what coach tells me to do."
Savage: After realizing you should have done some things differently, does that make you hungrier going into next season?
Gortat: "Incredibly, incredibly. It gives me a lot of anger. I’m angry right now. I’m angry, disappointed and frustrated. I just told myself ‘whatever happens next year, I just want to play more and be more aggressive. I want to be able to do a little bit more.”
Savage: What goes through your mind when you see the Celtics and Lakers still playing basketball while we’re sitting here?
Gortat: "Honestly, I haven’t seen one game. I just don’t turn on ESPN. I don’t watch anything. I’m just trying to forget about what happened. It’s frustrating everything that happened. We had a great team, we had a great group of guys and we have a great coaching staff. We just missed a couple of things in our game. It’s frustrating, really frustrating and it’s sad that we came out in a couple of games and played without heart and played without energy. In games at that kind of level, you should just come out and give 120 percent of your body. We didn’t do that."
Savage: Do you get the sense that if you had won one of those first two games at home, you could have won the series?
Gortat: "I think those were the crucial games. People talk about Game 3 and Game 6 (being the turning points), that’s just not true. Games 1 and 2, those two games were crucial (in deciding our fate). We screwed up and got punished later on. When you’re down 2-0, it’s crazy to play. We had all this talk and all this discussion heading into Game 3 and then bam, we’re losing by 35. I’m thinking what the (heck) is going on. Everybody is asking questions. But everything would have looked way different if we had just won one of those two games. I’m not even talking about both, just one of those two games at home. The situation would have been way, way different."
OrlandoMagic.com’s Dan Savage sat down with Magic back-up center Marcin Gortat at the RDV Sportsplex on Monday to discuss his offseason plans, goals for next season and much more.
Savage: What are your plans for this offseason?
Gortat: "I have to probably play for my national team. I still do not know if I can play or not. I have to wait for the decision of Otis Smith and (Magic Head) Coach Stan Van Gundy. I have to talk to them about last season and talk to them about my situation for next year. I have a lot of responsibilities back in Poland. I promised to a lot of companies, foundations that I’m going to do a lot of promotional stuff, receptions and all kinds of things to help people in Poland. Besides that, I also have a lot of stuff going on with endorsers and sponsors and I have to be able to show up and perform and fulfill my obligations."
Savage: Do you want to play for your national team?
Gortat: "If I can play, I probably will, because that’s the best way to get better. But I know I have to find a month or two to sit down and work out with special coaches, who will work on my game and help me get better. That’s probably the most important thing for me as a basketball player."
Savage: I remember after you came back from playing with your national team last season, you said ‘It took you two months to recover.’ Is playing with them after a full season with the Magic taxing on the body?
Gortat: “It is (taxing on the body). I’m not going to lie, it is. You saw me the first two months of the season when I was totally mentally broken. I wasn’t able to play and perform at the highest level. So I am really considering quitting this year, if I am going to have the same results next year. I want to help the team and I want to be able to play from the first day and from the first game. I really don’t know what’s going to happen. I have to wait for Otis Smith’s decision and Coach Van Gundy’s decision. We’ll see what’s going to happen."
Savage: There are a lot of players who would use this time to just sit back and relax, but you’re here at the RDV Sportsplex today working out. What are you trying to accomplish by being here and what are you attempting to work on?
Gortat: "First thing, is to try and help people in this organization. Second thing, I want to get better. I want to come back next season and be stronger and do everything better than I used to. Last year, for me, was disappointing. Aside from the fact that the team did not win anything, my role was the same, but it didn’t really look like that. I had less post-up moves, less ball in the hand and I wasn’t able to do anything in the game. So next year, I want to come back and show everybody that I am able to do certain things on offense and I want to be a bigger part of what we do offensively."
Savage: What aspects of your game are you looking to improve?
Gortat: "My shooting. I think my shooting is the crucial thing. If I can consistently shoot 17 to 18-foot jumpers then I am going to be able to play as a four-man a little bit more. Like I said before, I don’t think there’s a problem with me playing there from a defensive standpoint. I’m pretty confident that I can defend most of the fours in the league and I definitely know the defensive rotations and the defensive schemes. But I have to improve my offensive game. I believe I have offensive game; I just have to show it."
Savage: In regards to grasping the defensive rotations, you’ve said that you believe you are one of the best on the team, correct?
Gortat: "I really do. I believe that I know all the calls and I know all the things we’re supposed to do. I pay attention to the little details. Obviously mistakes happen. We’re only humans, we’re not machines – well I am a machine (laughs) – but still when you’re talking about defensive rotations, I feel confident that I am pretty good."
Savage: What do you feel would be your perfect role on this team?
Gortat: "I feel that my perfect role would be to be the first sixth man coming off the bench as a four or five man and being the guy who is able to lift the team off the bench with scoring, defending and rebounding. (I want to be the guy) who is going to play 20 to 25 minutes a game. A guy who is going to help perform, stop someone and help the team."
Savage: What do you have to do to get there?
Gortat: "I just have to improve my game. I have to improve my shooting ability and just be consistent with that. If I am able to be consistent with my shooting, hit that 17 to 18-footer and be more aggressive then I really, really believe that I am going to be a four man next year. Maybe not start, but be a backup for (that position) as well and that will be a good thing for me."
Savage: When you look back on last season is there anything you wish you did differently?
Gortat: "Everything. After we finished the season, right after the game, I sat down and asked myself ‘what kind of season did I play? How did it happen that we lost in the Eastern Conference Finals? This team was built to win a championship, we lost and what did I do to help the team?’ Honestly, I said ‘I had exactly the same season like I had last year.’ I had a little drop in points, but I went up a little bit in blocks. Rebounds were pretty much the same. Everything was pretty much the same. I just realized that I had the same season. But then I came back home and after a couple of days I realized this season was (really bad) for me actually. My goal was to have bigger statistics, play better, have a bigger role on the team, be more aggressive on offense and I didn’t do any of those things. So I just realized that I had a (really bad) season, because I just played at the same level. So it kind of looks like I’m stuck in the same place and cruising at the same speed and in the same direction. I realized it was really bad for me. I as a player believe I have ambition to go further and do more. I just wanted to see myself way further along than I am now. So I believe it was a bad season for me and I will do everything different. I will be more aggressive, fight for my stuff a bit more – I didn’t want to make any problems – and I’ll just try to be honest and do what coach tells me to do."
Savage: After realizing you should have done some things differently, does that make you hungrier going into next season?
Gortat: "Incredibly, incredibly. It gives me a lot of anger. I’m angry right now. I’m angry, disappointed and frustrated. I just told myself ‘whatever happens next year, I just want to play more and be more aggressive. I want to be able to do a little bit more.”
Savage: What goes through your mind when you see the Celtics and Lakers still playing basketball while we’re sitting here?
Gortat: "Honestly, I haven’t seen one game. I just don’t turn on ESPN. I don’t watch anything. I’m just trying to forget about what happened. It’s frustrating everything that happened. We had a great team, we had a great group of guys and we have a great coaching staff. We just missed a couple of things in our game. It’s frustrating, really frustrating and it’s sad that we came out in a couple of games and played without heart and played without energy. In games at that kind of level, you should just come out and give 120 percent of your body. We didn’t do that."
Savage: Do you get the sense that if you had won one of those first two games at home, you could have won the series?
Gortat: "I think those were the crucial games. People talk about Game 3 and Game 6 (being the turning points), that’s just not true. Games 1 and 2, those two games were crucial (in deciding our fate). We screwed up and got punished later on. When you’re down 2-0, it’s crazy to play. We had all this talk and all this discussion heading into Game 3 and then bam, we’re losing by 35. I’m thinking what the (heck) is going on. Everybody is asking questions. But everything would have looked way different if we had just won one of those two games. I’m not even talking about both, just one of those two games at home. The situation would have been way, way different."
