Marcin Gortat has a deal with the Suns’ coaching staff this season: get 20 rebounds in a game, do what you like. As you’ll soon see, this is a very serious and important matter to Gortat -- so much so that he believes there might have been a conspiracy to keep him from reaching that number on Sunday.
Gortat has been solid on the boards all season, averaging 10.4 rebounds per game, while grabbing 15 or more seven times -- including the 17 he got in a 96-88 win over the Kings. The rebounds are more important to Gortat than the scoring at this point, because if he can go even bigger and grab 20 or more in a single game, well ... that’s where the fun begins.
Suns head coach Alvin Gentry said earlier in the year that if Gortat got 20 or more rebounds in a game, that he could do whatever he wants. To Gortat, that means getting the green light to jack up a three-pointer or two, and he thought he was close enough on Sunday to have a crack at it.
After tallying 15 rebounds through three quarters, however, Gortat rode the pine until the game’s final four minutes. That was due, of course, to the fact that the lineup Phoenix had in at the time was working, but Gortat jokingly accused the coaching staff of foul play afterward, saying that they intentionally sat him so that he wouldn’t get to grab that elusive 20th rebound.
“It was the third game (in a row) where we out-rebounded the other team, and if we’re going to continue doing such a great job on the boards, we’re going to put ourselves in a better position to win the game,” Gortat said.
“About me, 17 rebounds, I think coach kind of sniffed out that I’m getting close to 20 boards, and he didn’t really want me to shoot that three,” he continued. “That’s why he put me on the bench. I’ve got to talk to him. I’ve definitely got to have a meeting with him, today or tomorrow.”
Gentry happened to walk through the locker room after Gortat’s comments, and predictably laughed off the assertion. As for Gortat and whether or not he even has that kind of range, he’s 2-of-8 from downtown in his career, now playing in his sixth season.
No matter what the numbers say, Gortat says he’s feeling it from distance.
“I’ve felt that thing the last five years, since I’ve made it to the league,” he said while laughing. “I really feel I can do that. I was really close, I guess somebody had to whisper to his ear that ‘Hey, he’s getting close.’ So it was time for me to rest.”
The Suns have lived with Channing Frye going 5-for-30 from the field over the past two games. I think they’d be more than happy to take their chances with Gortat from distance, especially if he’d earned that green light by pulling down those 20 boards.
