Gortat/Lopez update

[elindholm]

Through games of December 3:

mpg: Gortat 31.2, Lopez 27.5
ppg: Gortat 11.7, Lopez 11.8
fg%: Gortat 54%, Lopez 53%
ft%: Gortat 67%, Lopez 76%
fta/gm: Gortat 2.6, Lopez 3.1
rpg: Gortat 8.3, Lopez 5.6
bpg: Gortat 2.1, Lopez 1.9
turnovers/gm: Gortat 1.7, Lopez 1.4
pf/gm: Gortat 2.2, Lopez 1.9
apg: Gortat 1.0, Lopez 1.1
spg: Gortat 0.7, Lopez 0.8

 

[tobiazz]

Gortat has certainly been underwhelming, but Lopez's rebounding is embarrassing.

 

[95pro]

and gortat wants to be the number one option...

 

[Cheesebeef]

again, the second we dealt Nash or realized we weren't going to bring him back, this team was incredibly short-sighted in not selling high on Gortat, who's value never would have been higher and by the time they were rebuilt, would have been past his prime.

 

[95pro]

again, the second we dealt Nash or realized we weren't going to bring him back, this team was incredibly short-sighted in not selling high on Gortat, who's value never would have been higher and by the time they were rebuilt, would have been past his prime.

i think part of the plan was bringing in some more fire power as seen by us trying to acquire Gordon or Mayo. the Dragic signing was good. Scola and Beasley are whiffs so far.

coupled gortat with dragic and possible mayo/gordon then the f/o was hoping for something more competitive at this point.

 

[Covert Rain]

Rebounds below 10 are pathetic for both IMO but at 5.6 RPG as a 7 footer in Lopez is beyond pathetic. Lopez has only registered double digit rebounding in 3 games (12 1/2% of his games) and has registered 5 or less rebounds in 46% of his games. New Orleans is dead last in the NBA at rebounding from the Center position.

I agree with the above that Gortat has been underwhelming but Lopez has done nothing to make me feel like the Suns made a mistake about letting him go.

 

[slinslin]

Lopez played 27mpg. If he averaged 10rpg he would be the best rebounder in the NBA.

What eric proved and what I pointed to in the past is simply that Gortat really is not more productive than Lopez. He rebounds a bit more but Lopez is more efficient and better scorer.

 

[Covert Rain]

Lopez played 27mpg. If he averaged 10rpg he would be the best rebounder in the NBA.

What eric proved and what I pointed to in the past is simply that Gortat really is not more productive than Lopez. He rebounds a bit more but Lopez is more efficient and better scorer.

Well, there are actually a few centers averaging more and what you gloss over is that among players getting minutes at center he is currently ranked #31 in the NBA. He simply never shows up on the boards and has a habit of disappearing in games defensively. I have watched him play 4 or 5 times this season and he still lets the more athletic guys go right around him. He is a main factor at why NO is the worst team in the NBA rebounding at that position.

Rebounding from the Center position is one of the most important things a center can do and Lopez is one of the worst in the NBA. He was drafted by the Suns to rebound and play defense.

Also, you cannot correlate what he did last year with a set of players to what he is doing now with a new group of players. What plays are called, what he is being asked to do and the impact of the players he is playing with now do have an impact on how you perform. Being that they asked Gortat and Lopez to do the exact same thing and Gortat outplayed him speaks volumes. That you can correlate. There is zero doubt Gortat was more productive on this team and it was not even close.

The better test would be to put Gortat on NO. There is zero doubt Lopez would lose his starting job there too if they were on the same team again.

 

[slinslin]

except last year their numbers were almost identical as well when playing without Nash.. except Lopez scored a lot more and more efficient while Gortat had a slight rebounding edge.

 

[Covert Rain]

except last year their numbers were almost identical as well when playing without Nash.. except Lopez scored a lot more and more efficient while Gortat had a slight rebounding edge.

What was Lopez drafted for? Was he drafted to score or was he drafted to shore up defense and rebounding? Gortat was the better defender and rebounder last year period. Who cares if Lopez can score. If we cared that much about scoring we should have drafted his brother.

Also, what about when they both played with Nash? If Nash helped Gortat why couldn't he help Lopez put up equal numbers? Also, Nash didn't help Gortat rebound and he didn't help Gortat play defense.

 

[Cheesebeef]

i think part of the plan was bringing in some more fire power as seen by us trying to acquire Gordon or Mayo. the Dragic signing was good. Scola and Beasley are whiffs so far.

coupled gortat with dragic and possible mayo/gordon then the f/o was hoping for something more competitive at this point.

that plan would have been pathetic as well, especially the gordon part of it.

 

[Neo]

But Lopez has cooler hair.

 

[Covert Rain]

that plan would have been pathetic as well, especially the gordon part of it.

I admit I was intrigued by Gordon for about 2 seconds.

 

[slinslin]

What was Lopez drafted for? Was he drafted to score or was he drafted to shore up defense and rebounding? Gortat was the better defender and rebounder last year period. Who cares if Lopez can score. If we cared that much about scoring we should have drafted his brother.

Also, what about when they both played with Nash? If Nash helped Gortat why couldn't he help Lopez put up equal numbers? Also, Nash didn't help Gortat rebound and he didn't help Gortat play defense.

Lopez had some big scoring games including 30+ games before his injury when playing with Nash, something Gortat never did.

The fact is those numbers are no surprise if you paid attention to Lopez and Gortat last year.

 

[Covert Rain]

Lopez had some big scoring games including 30+ games before his injury when playing with Nash, something Gortat never did.

The fact is those numbers are no surprise if you paid attention to Lopez and Gortat last year.

You seem to forget the countless games where Lopez completely disappeared. This is the NBA and guys scoring like that are not unheard of. The lows and highs don't count in the NBA. Consistency does.

So if you were paying attention...all the games were Lopez didn't show up more than wipe out any game he scored a bunch of points. What about all the goose eggs last year and other games he didn't show up at all?

Cherry picking a game were he put up a bunch of points means squat. You keep going back to offense for a guy that was drafted for defense and rebounding.

 

[95pro]

You seem to forget the countless games where Lopez completely disappeared. This is the NBA and guys scoring like that are not unheard of. The lows and highs don't count in the NBA. Consistency does.

So if you were paying attention...all the games were Lopez didn't show up more than wipe out any game he scored a bunch of points. What about all the goose eggs last year and other games he didn't show up at all?

Cherry picking a game were he put up a bunch of points means squat. You keep going back to offense for a guy that was drafted for defense and rebounding.

post injury

 

[95pro]

i think injuries for a center is no good. lopez never bounced back. dH hasn't bounced back.

 

[Covert Rain]

i think injuries for a center is no good. lopez never bounced back. dH hasn't bounced back.

His rebounding and defense were not good pre-injury.

 

[95pro]

His rebounding and defense were not good pre-injury.

but they seemed a little better. not sure if the stats will back that up

 

[Covert Rain]

but they seemed a little better. not sure if the stats will back that up

I didn't see any that did. Even if they did, if you have crap, and some crap is a little less crappy....it's still crap.

 

[AzStevenCal]

I didn't see any that did. Even if they did, if you have crap, and some crap is a little less crappy....it's still crap.

What I remember is that putting Lopez into the starting lineup alongside Amare improved our overall rebounding considerably. I really don't know if it continued all season that way but I know it started out like that. Anyway, Lopez showed flashes of almost brilliance on occasion but he went out injured near the end of Amare's final season with us and never played to that level again. He's played much better this season than the last 2 seasons and it's still not all that impressive. I mean big deal, we're all upset because Gortat is playing well below his level so we're supposed to miss Lopez because he is now playing to almost that same level?

Steve

 

[Covert Rain]

What I remember is that putting Lopez into the starting lineup alongside Amare improved our overall rebounding considerably. I really don't know if it continued all season that way but I know it started out like that. Anyway, Lopez showed flashes of almost brilliance on occasion but he went out injured near the end of Amare's final season with us and never played to that level again. He's played much better this season than the last 2 seasons and it's still not all that impressive. I mean big deal, we're all upset because Gortat is playing well below his level so we're supposed to miss Lopez because he is now playing to almost that same level?

Steve

And god awful rebounding still to boot.

 

[slinslin]

Gortat is not playing below his level. He has never done more than that unless Nash was feeding him. He plays exactly like last season when Nash was not on the floor with him.

 

[Covert Rain]

Gortat is not playing below his level. He has never done more than that unless Nash was feeding him. He plays exactly like last season when Nash was not on the floor with him.

So stupid of an argument. They didn't run the same plays when Nash was not in there. The team often struggled period when Nash was not in there and had a hard time getting into plays. He had good chemistry with Nash so it's natural when that player is not in there to play different. Plus the time he didn't play with Nash didn't equate to entire half of a game or anything.

He is playing with new group of guys and new plays. He is not happy and the offense isn't going through him. I would expect his numbers to be down. By the way, he is only off 3.7 points from last year and 1.7 rebounds per game. WOW...huge difference. According to you Nash was responsible for all of Gortat's points and all his success. Seems to me you can only claim 3.7 point difference without Nash which only highlights your ridiculous lack of credit to Gortat last year. Even that claim is bunk.

So, again, what was the Lopez excuse when Nash had just as many opportunities to feed Lopez? Why couldn't Lopez put up the same numbers with Nash...if it was all Nash? Why couldn't Lopez rebound or play defense?

 

[AzStevenCal]

Gortat is not playing below his level. He has never done more than that unless Nash was feeding him. He plays exactly like last season when Nash was not on the floor with him.

I'm torn between calling that nonsense and agreeing with you. It's hard to really tell what his level is. Earlier this season he was playing incredible defense, both man and help, and his offense was solid if unspectacular. But since then, his defense has dropped off to slightly above average and his offense has been very inconsistent. If he's capable of playing at his peak level, he's an all star caliber center. I just don't know how to get him to play at that level nightly and when he's not playing at that level, he's a dime a dozen player.

Steve