(Andrew Bogut’s twitcon)
WARRIORS PRACTICE FACILITY, OAKLAND CA — It wasn’t too long ago when Andrew Bogut was in Shanghai and the story about him beginning negotiations on his contract extension broke.
At media availability the very next day, you could hear him repeat the things that he brought to the table as far as his role on the team was concerned, as well as the very fact that he was accepting a more defined role which emphasized his defense. Not that he was in a bad mood, but he certainly wasn’t all smiles a la Dwight Howard. It was very much similar to the “edge” that he displays on the court.
“Bogues (the nickname Bogut is commonly referred to by the team) is always on edge, so he has that mentality going in anyway, which is why he’s crucial to our basketball team,” said head coach Mark Jackson after last Tuesday’s practice, “When I say ‘on edge’, let me clarify it: on the floor. Huddles, locker room, practice, I mean, he’s funny. But on the court, we certainly need that because you look at the DNA of our players, naturally, that’s not who they are and he brings that to this basketball team: a presence, a force, a level of physical play that’s not who we have been and makes life easier for us, so we have an appreciation for it.”
This edge can be seen with the media as well, and his bluntness is very well known to Warriors fans and beatwriters. After practice last week, he said the following to Rusty Simmons:
So when this summer was mentioned after Thursday’s practice, Bogut passed on the subject.
.
“I’ve touched on that enough,” he said. “I’m not really going to get involved in it too much more. It is what it is. He’s in Houston now. I’m here. I’m not really thinking about it too much.”
The defense and a potentially fat contract based on defensive accolades such as being named to the NBA All-Defense team are certainly a given these days. Coach Jackson said that no conversation was needed to talk about Bogut’s role on the team.
“No, he recognizes it. He embraces it. It’s awfully nice to be paid a boatload of money and to be asked to do what you do. That’s incredible. There’s no pressure on him. ‘Hey Bogues, we’re gonna pay you a lot of money, we need to rebound, block shots, defend, and be a physical force.’ So you don’t ask him to do anything that’s out of his character,” Jackson said last week after practice, “What he does is just as valuable as guys pulling up threes, guys making plays.”
But with all this focus on the defensive end, can Bogut be that “double-edged sword”? Can he return to the force on offense that he had with the Milwaukee Bucks, when he averaged a double-double for four consecutive years, or is he too entrenched in his role as defensive stopper and the fifth option on offense?
Simmons writes:
He knows that he’s not going to be the top-scoring option in the Warriors’ high-powered offense. Shoot, he might not even be the team’s No. 6 option.
.
He says he’s happy just “taking the (offensive) scraps,” because he is the anchor of the defense, the team’s most physical presence and the man setting the screens that open the space for three-pointers from Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson.
And as Carl Steward reported from practice:
Bogut’s conditioning now is as noteworthy as his health. He said his vertical leap is finally back, something he didn’t have even when he returned to the lineup late last season and during the playoffs.
.
“I feel like I can jump now and get to some of those lobs Steph (Curry) throws,” he said. “Last year, I had no chance of getting to them.”
After not playing healthy for nearly an entire two years, Bogut entered training camp this season at 100% and — even Jackson admits — is just gradually coming back into offensive form, even though the touches might not even be there to begin with. It was only last month when Bogut said he’d be looking to go more “2-for-3 instead of zero-for-3”:
“Offense will come, I mean I struggled a little bit but I don’t get a lot of field goal attempts — which I’m not complaining about by any means — I just gotta make better use of them. Instead of going 0-for-3, going 3-for-3 or 2-for-3.
Although the Warriors continue to struggle since the injury to Andre Iguodala, Bogut last week didn’t seem like he was altering his course.
“My touch is getting better, I’m getting some easy baskets,” Bogut said, “I would say that I’m not gonna be the #1, or 2, or 3 option on this team, so I take the scraps when I can, get a couple of touches and just try to make it.”
It’s too bad that the Warriors aren’t looking inside to establish him as post up force, and/or that he’s still a long way from a full recovery of his offensive weaponry, because it could help add another dimension to the Warriors and get them out of the doldrums, especially when the #SplashBrothers are not clicking, for whatever reason.
For now, the double-edged Bogut has one edge ready for battle and the other edge still in the process of more sharpening.
Add The Sports Daily to your Google News Feed!
