Long-suffering Golden State Warriors fans (and I am one of them) are lighting candles, offering prayers and – because it is the bizarre Bay Area – perhaps even considering sacrificing goats.
The reason for the concern is the health of the Warriors’ veteran Australian centre Andrew Bogut.
On a team led by the best guard combination in the NBA – the amazing Stephen Curry and the slick-shooting Klay Thompson – it is a 30-year-old Aussie that seemingly holds the key to the Warriors’ dream of winning an NBA crown.
The last time the Warriors won the NBA championship was back in 1975. I was in college and had hair – long hair. Their best player back then was Rick Barry and he shot free throws underhand. Really, he shot ’em underhand and I had hair. We have photos.
So, how is it that a player who averages 6.3 points per game and plays a little more than 23 minutes a contest became the keeper of the flame?
The Warriors’ offense is all about touches. It is all about movement. It is all about creating opportunities for Curry and Thompson and now forward Draymond Green in getting great looks at the basket. With seven-foot Bogut down low, he keeps everyone honest. He is a talented passer who can score if you ease off of him, and he prevents opponents from double teaming the Warriors’ two stars.
Bogut does the dirty work inside for Golden State. He is invaluable. He is like the brother-in-law you can’t stand who just happens to be a plumber: when the pipes back up, well, he is the most valuable guy on the planet.
Don’t kid yourself, Bogut has game. His fourth year in the league, when he was playing for the Milwaukee Bucks, he averaged just under 16 points per game and he was a beast on the boards.
Coach Steve Kerr knows just how valuable the veteran is to his team. He rests him when can, saving him for the NBA Playoffs which start on April 18.
Back in December, Bogut missed games after an MRI revealed chondromalacia and bone edema in his right knee, which are big, doctor words for ‘your right knee hurts like hell after after going to war every night with other 7-foot NBA monsters for nine years’. With the help of his own personal physician from Australia, Bogut elected to undergo platelet-rich plasma (PRP) therapy to treat his knee.
When Andrew returned to the line-up the Warriors were simply a better team. The ball movement was there and they ended up reeling off 16 wins in a row. He really is the Warriors’ soft-spoken sheriff who prevents every opponent from going too fast. Just having Bogut on the floor makes every team ease off the throttle.
This is the season the Warriors have a shot in the Western Conference crown. Portland’s outstanding guard Wesley Matthews suffered a season-ending torn achilles tendon last week. The LA Clippers’ star forward Blake Griffin has missed one month with a staph infection in his elbow. He was back on the practice floor on March 8 but now the Clippers look to be in disarray.
To win the West the Warriors will have to go through San Antonio Spurs and the Spurs finally seem vulnerable, largely because Tim Duncan is 138 years old and he turns a ripe 139 on April 25.
Really, Tim is a great player but he was around when they first put air into basketballs.
It should be pointed out that the underhanded free-shooting hero of the Warriors’ last championship team, Rick Barry, actually played while wearing a toupee. Really, a wig. We have photos. If the Warriors can win the West, I will be in the market myself for a hairpiece. Anything for a title.
And if Bogut can stay healthy, well, in San Francisco and Oakland there will a lot more happy goats.
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