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Washington Wizards 2016 Season Review: Marcin Gortat

By David Statman

Apr 10, 2016; Washington, DC, USA; Washington Wizards center Marcin Gortat (13) dunks the ball over Charlotte Hornets forward Marvin Williams (2) in the fourth quarter at Verizon Center. The Wizards won 113-98. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports
Apr 10, 2016; Washington, DC, USA; Washington Wizards center Marcin Gortat (13) dunks the ball over Charlotte Hornets forward Marvin Williams (2) in the fourth quarter at Verizon Center. The Wizards won 113-98. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports /
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The Washington Wizards have one of the most underappreciated centers in the NBA in Marcin Gortat

Basic Stats: 13.5 PPG (56.7 FG%), 9.9 RPG, 1.4 APG, 1.3 BPG

Over the next couple of weeks, we’ll be posting individual player reviews for the guys that ended the season in a Washington Wizards uniform. We’ll continue with everyone’s favorite Polish Machine…

I’m just gonna lead this off with a true statement: Marcin Gortat is one of the best centers in the National Basketball Association.

It’s something I’ve been saying for three years. Not everyone has been on board. But the Polish Machine has just gotten better and better in Washington, and in 2015-16 Marcin Gortat turned in one of the best seasons of his career.

As always, Marcin Gortat’s greatest attribute is something that is consistently taken for granted: his consistency. Not just consistency in terms of production, but consistency of just being on the court.

Marcin Gortat missed seven games this season, which was actually an event in an of itself – he had only missed one game total in his previous two seasons in Washington.

In an 82 game season that’s one of the most grueling in all professional sports, how often do you get a guy who can rely on so much to stay healthy? The trials and travails of Bradley Beal and Nene should tell you not to ever take that lightly.

Even John Wall went and got himself hurt.

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Marcin Gortat is one of the only dudes in the world you can count on for 75+ games a year, etched in stone.

Furthermore, Gortat’s consistency in those games is unfailing.

The perfect pick-and-roll partner for Wall, Gortat does wonders when he’s paired up with a point guard who can play to his strengths offensively, and when he gets rolling he’s tough to stop.

I mean, for weeks at a time.

At one point this season, Gortat scored double-figures in 23 straight games.

He finished with double-figures in 62 of 75 games, and notched 41 double-doubles.

The man just produces and produces and produces, and when you watch him closely, you find a center with very few faults at all.

He’s not the type of big-time athletic shotblocker who tends to earn All-Defensive attention, but Gortat is as good a defensive center as the Washington Wizards have had in decades, using his smarts and mobility to neutralize the pick-and-roll as well as he scores in it at the other end.

What more could you want? Is he the greatest rebounder in the world? No. Is he a prime Mutombo? No.

But Marcin Gortat is the one guy you can always rely on. He’s going to show up every time, toss up a double-double (or close to it) and play good defense. He does his job.

Next: Wizards Should Pursue Kevin Love in a Trade

So next time you’re fondly reminiscing over Brendan Haywood, or feverishly dreaming of the Washington Wizards signing Dwight Howard, toss a care ol’ Gortat’s way. The Wizards are lucky to have a center of his caliber, and lucky to have a player who always comes to work and gives his best.

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