A day after Seattle welcomed Jesse “Tha Monstar” Williams to the NFL, San Francisco’s Bay Area gave a standing ovation to another Australian giant, Andrew “The Enforcer” Bogut.
Bogut, the 213cm, 118kg centre from Melbourne, was an unstoppable force for his Golden State Warriors on Sunday, dunking, diving into the stands, passing behind his back and brutalising the Denver Nuggets in the crucial fourth game of their NBA playoff series.
The 115-101 win gave the Warriors, playing on their home court in Oakland, a 3-1 lead, putting them just one win away from clinching the series.
After a similarly physically dominant performance two days earlier, Golden State head coach Mark Jackson nicknamed Bogut “The Enforcer”.
“He was off the charts, making plays out of double teams, setting great screens, rebounding the basketball, playing physical,” Jackson said in Sunday’s post-game press conference.
“He was key to keeping us in the ball game and setting the tone.
“That’s why they pay him the big bucks.”
When the Milwaukee Bucks traded Bogut to the Warriors last year for guard Monta Ellis, many Warriors fans were outraged and this was exacerbated when microfracture surgery on Bogut’s left ankle forced him to sit more than half of the regular season.
There are few in the Bay area complaining now.
“He is now the best big man out of Australia. Sorry Luc Longley,” one of the great centres of all-time, Shaquille O’Neal, working as a TV analyst, said.
Longley is Australia’s most decorated NBA player, winning three championships in the 1990s with Michael Jordan’s Chicago Bulls.
Bogut finished the game with 12 points, including four dunks, five rebounds and two blocked shots.
While Bogut dominated the centre, the Warriors’ sharpshooters were lethal, headed by Stephen Curry who top-scored with 31 points, including six three pointers.
Bogut’s big game came 24 hours after Brisbane’s Williams, nicknamed Tha Monstar for his ability to bench press 270kg and aggressive play as a nose tackle for the champion University of Alabama, was drafted by the NFL’s Seattle Seahawks.
Bogut sent Williams a congratulatory tweet.
There will be plenty more Aussie-inspired headlines in the sports pages of US newspapers if the Warriors wrap up the series in Denver on Tuesday.
If they advance, the Warriors will play the San Antonio Spurs, who feature Boomers Patty Mills and Aron Baynes, in the second round of the playoffs.
The Spurs, with 208cm, 118kg forward/centre Baynes in the starting line-up, easily eliminated the injury-depleted Los Angeles Lakers 103-82 on Sunday to sweep the series 4-0.
Baynes had just six points and two rebounds, but he did the job he was asked to do, guarding the Lakers All-Star centre Dwight Howard who became so frustrated he was ejected from the game in the third quarter after receiving his second technical foul.
In other playoff games on Sunday, the Miami Heat eliminated the Bucks 4-0 with a 88-77 win and the Boston Celtics beat the New York Knicks 90-97, but trail in the series 3-1.
What’s your best bet? For great odds on all your favourite sports check out PlayUp. Chances are you’re about to lose. Set a deposit limit.
It’s a pretty good time to be a Tasmanian sports fan right now. After years in the sporting wilderness with not much to celebrate,…
Olympic swimming legend and Australian Sports Commission boss Kieren Perkins has warned that "someone will die" if a multi-sport event that allows athletes to…
In 2015 when heavyweight boxer Tyson Fury beat Wladimir Klitschko, the fighter regarded by many as the ‘Greatest of all time’ in the sport,…
Join Australia's most vibrant online sports community and you have the chance to win $1000. The Roar is the perfect blend of sports reporting,…
Here is a review of our boxers who made a splash in the world rankings over the past year.
After intense debate at Roar HQ, we’ve selected the 23 most controversial moments for 2023.
