Croatians Around The NBA: Week 1

Photo: AFP

Andrew Bogut opened up the 2015-16 NBA season with another injury. The Australian born Croatian bumped heads with the New Orleans Pelicans forward Dante Cunningham at the 7 minute mark of the third quarter on Tuesday night in Oakland. Bogut went to the locker room after the play and did not return as the 7 footer finished the match with 12 points, 5 rebounds, 5 assists on 6 for 6 shooting in 19 minutes of action.

The Warriors diagnosed Bogut with a concussion and he is out indefinitely. Andrew has missed the last three games for the Warriors and remains in the league’s concussion protocol, hoping to be cleared sometime this week.

Andrew Bogut injury

 Photo: Twitter

After a disappointing Eurobasket 2015 with Croatia, Damjan Rudež starts a new chapter in his life with the Minnesota Timberwolves. Rudež was traded to the Minnesota Timberwolves in exchange for Chase Budinger last summer and led all rookies in three-point field goal percentage last season.

Damijan has had a rocky start so far with the Wolves, playing in only one of three matches for Minnesota. Rudež played only five minutes for the Wolves  on Wednesday night against the Lakers and the 29-year-old finished with two points and a rebound.

Photo: Fox Sports

Sacramento Kings undrafted rookie, Duje Dukan, made the Kings’ opening night roster but hasn’t been on the team’s active roster sheet during the first week of the 2015-16 NBA season. Duje will most likely be assigned to the D-League to further develop his game. The Split born forward moved to the United States when he was 10 months old and played college basketball for the University of Wisconsin.

“Except for the Kings, I don’t think a lot of people knew about me” said Dukan.

Photo: 24sata HR

Despite featuring in several exciting games, the Orlando Magic has nothing to show for it. Mario Hezonja has gone through an unsettling start to his career off the bench. Orlando allowed Washington to come from behind in a 88-87 defeat on opening night. Hezonja played well by scoring 11 points on four of nine shooting. Scott Skiles played him for 25 minutes, including most of the fourth quarter. Hezonja drained 3 three-pointers to show off his sweet stroke. You can see the highlights below.

Hezonja was reduced to just 14 minutes in Orlando’s thrilling double overtime loss to Oklahoma City 139-136 last Friday. With Evan Fourier playing well, there wasn’t any room for him in the starting lineup. A one for three shooting performance was headlined by tying his shoe instead of guarding Kevin Durant on one particular play. Skiles’s reputation for being no-nonsense could have played a factor in Hezonja’s night on the bench. 

Things got worse for the rookie, as his minutes were reduced to just five in a 92-87 loss to Chicago. After missing three shots, Skiles decided to keep him on the bench for the rest of the game. It’s going to be a long process for the rookie to earn consistent minutes with a coach like Skiles. Poor shot selection is one of the biggest reasons behind rookies falling in a coach’s doghouse. Mario only played 15 minutes in Orlando’s first win of the season last night against New Orleans. The rookie shooting guard shot only one of two from the field, which included a three pointer.

Orlando continues their road trip tonight at Houston. They head back home to play against Toronto on Friday, which will be another litmus test against one of the better Eastern Conference teams. A two-game road trip to Philadelphia on Saturday and Indiana on Monday finishes the week.

Photo: AFP

In unsurprising fashion, the Brooklyn Nets have struggled to start the season. To start the season against four playoff teams from last season is a daunting task for a declining team. Bojan Bogdanovic came off the bench to score nine points on three of eight shooting in a 115-100 loss to Chicago. Through the highlights below, Bojan continues to show more willingness towards being creative. Instead of waiting on the baseline, the second year player looks to be more assertive offensively

After a strong first half, Brooklyn faded against San Antonio in embarrassing fashion last Friday. They were outscored 60-28 in the second half en route to a 102-75 defeat. Bogdanovic scored six points from three of six shooting and four rebounds. Brooklyn simply isn’t capable of hanging with Western Conference powerhouses like San Antonio.

The difficult matchups continued with a trip to Memphis. Bogdanovic was unfazed by the superior team and exploded for 19 points on eight of fifteen shooting. Despite coming off the bench, Lionel Hollins played him for 34 minutes. An array of mid-range jumpers and isolation plays really made this one of his best career games ever. Bogdanovic looked poised all game long with his jump shot, along with getting into the lane on a consistent basis. Brooklyn ended up falling 101-91 for another tough defeat. You can see the highlights below.

As Brooklyn continued their losing streak, Bojan’s hot streak continued against Milwaukee. In a 103-96 loss, Bogdanovic scored 14 points on five of ten shooting. Another positive performance with not too many contested shots should make Hollins pleased. It’ll be interesting to see if they keep Bojan in a six-man role or insert him into the starting lineup. A move could be coming.

The schedule doesn’t get much easier, as Brooklyn heads to Atlanta tonight. They play their first non-playoff team from last year on Friday against the rebuilding Los Angeles Lakers. A quick trip to Milwaukee on Saturday ends their week. The NBA schedule makers haven’t done them any favors with this grueling stretch.

Twitter: @Allen_Strk