Expected Role
Offense
Gortat will begin the season as the starting center for the team. His offensive game will be heavily centered around the pick and roll and putbacks.
Last season as the roll man, Gortat scored on 45.5% of plays. This was good enough for 0.88 points per possession. This was a far cry from his previous two seasons where he scored 1.09 PPP on 65.6% of plays (2016-17) and 1.21 PPP on 60.2% of plays (2015-16). While there is a noticeable dip in last year’s stats, it is worth noting that John Wall only played in 41 games last season compared to 78 and 77 the two years prior. This likely had a big influence on Gortat’s ability to play in the pick and roll.
Patrick Beverley was in the 51st percentile during the 2016-17 as the passer in pick and roll situations, but Gortat will most likely benefit from playing next to Milos Teodosic and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. Both players are true playmakers and should be able to feed Gortat.
It is also worth noting that last season, Gortat averaged 4.5 screen assists. According to NBA.com, these are “the number of times an offensive player or team sets a screen for a teammate that directly leads to a made field goal by that teammate.” Gortat’s 4.5 per game put him at fourth in the league. In 2016-17, he led the league with 6.2.
While his rolls may not be as effective as DeAndre Jordan’s, there is a piece of the game that Gortat has over Jordan: his ability to knock down mid-range jumpers. According to NBAsavant.com, Gortat hit 45.7% (90 of 197) of his mid-range shots from the paint last season. This was better than the league average of 39.6%. He also converted on 49.9% (38 of 93) from just outside of the paint, which was 0.4% higher than the league average.
Compare that to DeAndre Jordan’s shot chart. DJ not only shot a much lower volume, but was also worse than league average. By having the ability to score from a couple of different positions, Gortat’s pick and roll game becomes more dangerous.
Defense
Gortat won’t impress on the defensive end, but shouldn’t hamper the team. Fans may think that there will be a big drop off in rim protection, but looking at last year’s stats, at face value it doesn’t seem to be the case. DeAndre Jordan’s opponents converted on 60.8% of shots from less than 6 feet while Gortat’s only converted on 59.9%. This stat is slightly misleading though as Jordan’s presence deterred opponents from even attempting shots at 4.5 field goals attempted per game. Meanwhile, Gortat’s opponents were more willing to attack, attempting 5.9 per game.
Gortat won’t block shots too often either, finishing 54th last season in blocks per game. Instead, his biggest benefit comes from his ability to use his 240 pound frame to box out opposing players.
Through February 14 of last season, Gortat ranked fifth in box outs. He did fall behind the likes of DeAndre Jordan and Steven Adams. Since the Clippers lost one of the top rebounders in the league in Jordan, rebounding will take more of a team effort. With Gortat boxing out opposing centers, other players should be able to swoop in and snag the ball.
The defensive end of the court will rely heavily on his ability to move when switching and to play smart. Gortat will have to play into his strength (which is literally his strength) in order to make any sort of defensive impact.