Marcin Gortat 'thinking too much' when he is playing

Too many people are saying too many things to Marcin Gortat and it seems like he needs to stop listening to everybody and just play his game.

Gortat, some believe, has gotten caught up in who he is trying to be for fans, coaches and himself and it is causing his play to suffer due to wanting to please everybody. The view of who he is from the outside isn't the view that he truly wants. His reputation among fans is that of a player created, not a player that's real.

"What has happened is he's thinking too much," Phoenix Suns head coach Alvin Gentry said in the Arizona Republic. "Whatever he has to do to play well, he has to do that. I don't want him thinking he has to be this real physical player if that's not what he is. I just want him to play the way he feels comfortable. If it's jump shots, he's a really good jump shooter."

Caught in the crosshairs of the playing styles of finesse and bruiser, Gortat must find the best way to be himself within the Suns' system, be productive and prevent his thoughts from dwarfing his results.

"Quite honestly, we all see that I'm not playing the best basketball right now," Gortat said.

The staff and fans want him to dunk on people, play physical and tough. His natural instinct is to drop in a shot with touch or step outside for a jumpshot. Whichever works will make everyone happy in the long run. It's figuring out which one does and sticking to it that seems to be the problem.