Marcin Gortat Plans to Keep Playing With a Broken Thumb

Marcin Gortat won’t let a measly broken thumb keep him out of the Phoenix Suns’ lineup, per the Arizona Republic: “For optimism about Suns center Marcin Gortat playing with a broken right thumb, one needed only to see him shoot with his left hand Thursday morning on the US Airways Center practice court. He was better off when he pulled his dislocated thumb out and kept shooting with it Tuesday night, making 5 of 6 free-throw attempts despite the pain. Gortat sat out Thursday night’s preseason finale but he plans to be on the floor for Monday’s regular-season opener. After four seasons of being almost exclusively a backup, Gortat is not about to surrender his chance to begin a season as a starter. ‘I ain’t going to back off from anything,’ Gortat said. ‘You’ve got to cut my arm off or my head off to make sure I’m not going to play. As long as I can walk, as long as I can see everything, I’m going to be playing. I’ve been waiting for a chance to play as a starter for so many years and I don’t want to give up like that. You’ll be sure I’m going to be playing on opening night.’ Gortat suffered the slight fracture along the top of his right thumb when Rudy Fernandez fouled him in the second quarter Tuesday at Denver. Gortat will wear a splint for two to four weeks of healing.”