Gortat cites personal issues for lack of focus, would like to play with stretch-4

It's important to remember that a player's performance on the court during the course of a season is only a small part of that person's entire being. Real life exists off the hardwood, and that can have a profound effect on what happens between the lines.

While Washington Wizards center Marcin Gortat didn't have a disastrous season, those close to the team felt he wasn't himself during the second half.

Though he struggled against the Atlanta Hawks in the playoffs - in part due to food poisoning - his numbers didn't decline as his affability did.

As the Wizards cleaned out their lockers Monday, Gortat opened up about his change in demeanor and, to hear him tell it, focus as the year wore on:

I would say in the eight years of my career, the eighth year was pretty much the toughest one from a personal standpoint. I had some issues during the season and that definitely didn’t help me to focus on basketball. That part is on me, definitely on me. I can’t blame anybody for that. I’m not going to talk about those issues. That’s why we call this personal business.

Playing in the first season of a five-year, $60-million contract that already looks as if it may be regrettable by the end, the 31-year-old averaged 12.2 points and 8.7 rebounds while shooting 56.6 percent from the floor.

Along with a renewed focus, Gortat also seemed to suggest that a different frontcourt partner could help his game. The Polish big man noticed that he seemed to produce better alongside power forwards who can space the floor, noting that he and Nene may not be an ideal pairing:

As much as I love Nene, and I think Nene understands this too, I would love to play with a stretch-four, with a guy who shoots the ball from the 3-point line. Because that automatically gives me room under the basket to operate and gives me more opportunity to play pick-and-rolls and roll to the paint where the paint is open.

Gortat isn't wrong about playing with Nene, even though the Wizards outscored opponents by 6.3 points per 100 possessions when the duo were on the floor together. With Nene alongside him, Gortat scored 2.5 fewer points and grabbed 1.3 fewer rebounds per 36 minutes, and he took a far higher percentage of his shots at the rim - 75.9 percent versus 67.5 percent - with Nene on the bench.

Nene's under contract for $13 million next season, so they'll need to make the marriage work for at least one more year, barring a trade.