Admit it, fellow hoops junkie. When first you heard the term
“gortat,” you imagined it was either an exotic French pastry or (if a person)
some Prussian field marshal from the Ottoman Empire.
But it’s been nearly a decade now since Marcin “The Polish
Hammer” Gortat became an NBA commodity – six years since he began to gain
notice as a valuable back-up big man for an Orlando Magic squad built around
Dwight Howard that reached the Finals. He has subsequently been packaged into
two multi-player trades, first with a first-round draft choice, and then for
one.
Not bad for a dude chosen fourth from last – and ironically
right after the selection of current Raptor Amir Johnson (by Detroit)
– in 2005 by Phoenix and immediately shipped off to the Magic for a bag of
practice balls (actually for future considerations).
And last night Ivan Putski, er … I mean, Gortat dropped 17
points in the first half alone on a desperate Toronto team competing for its
playoff life. No wonder Marcin’s current employer in our nation’s capital
rewarded him with a multi-year, big dollar contract extension last year.
In Game 2, Raptor head man Dwane Casey seemed determined to
play to and through big post Jonas Valanciunas. In his hour of need, though, he
turned to his stud, DeMar DeRozen who responded with a 32-point effort (albeit
on 29 shots). Johnson, starting for the first time in the series, responded
with 14 points on six-for-seven shooting. But for the second time in this series, the
Raps failed to make 40 percent of their field goal attempts.
Toronto forged ahead by a single point three times in the second
half, for the final time with six minutes remaining. Appropriately, that
advantage was soon erased when John Wall set up Gortat from point-blank range
for the last of his 24 tallies. The Big Pole was on the receiving end of eight
of the Wall’s game-high 15 assists.
It was left to Old Man Pierce to deliver the last rites of a
106-99 victory, notching eight of his 18 points in the game’s final two minutes,
including a pair of three-point dagger (the first set by Gortat).
Having both enjoyed a sweet victory (over Chicago) and
endured a bitter defeat (at the hands of a vulnerable pack of Pacers) a season
ago, Washington played the first half of its schedule like a team on a mission,
winning 69 percent of their games. An abysmal (5-14) third six-weeks raised
doubts, significantly lowering their profile. But in the season’s final 42
days, the Wiz righted the ship to the tune of 12-9.
Hmm, 12-9? Not a Hall of Fame run, by any means…
But one that can
getcha to the Finals.
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