Photo:AP/Sue Ogrocki
An injury scare didn’t affect Andrew Bogut and the Golden State Warriors. They went on and managed their second consecutive undefeated week. It began on Friday, where Bogut played against his fellow Australians Dante Exum, Joe Ingles and the Utah Jazz. Golden State won comfortably again at home, as they were up by 28 at the end of the third quarter. Bogut had a short night in scoring 12 points and four rebounds in just 20 minutes of action. A few highlight plays were on display, as his block on Derrick Favors was perfectly defended. Then in the next quarter, Andrew decided to go coast-to-coast against Favors in a very nifty way. The biggest highlight of the night was his behind the back pass to Stephen Curry, who threw a lob with his left hand to the cutting Bogut for the ally-oop. It was a beautiful play that will be on Golden State video packages for months to come.
Andrew Bogut against the Jazz
The injury scare occurred on Sunday, when Golden State was playing at Oklahoma City. Kendrick Perkins struck him with an elbow to the eye, while going for a loose ball. It doesn’t come as a surprise, considering Perkins’ notorious reputation of being a “tough guy”. Bogut suffered from a reported orbital contusion and wouldn’t come back in. It was an unfortunate injury for Bogut, as it was another freak accident. The CT scan was negative, which means it was nothing serious. Golden State struggled from the field shooting just 35 percent. Their incredible depth was on display in a 91-86 win over Oklahoma City, as Marresse Speights led them with 28 points in replacing Bogut.
After being questionable going into the game, Bogut started and managed to play 32 minutes against Miami. The stat sheet was once again from another solid performance. Andrew had eight points, ten rebounds, five assists, and two blocks in a 114-97 win. His battle with Chris Bosh was an entertaining one throughout the night. Bosh’s shooting range and ability to stretch the floor gave Bogut problems at times. Then Bosh tried to be too creative with pump fakes and Bogut sent his shot the other way. Andrew’s contributions in the scoring department weren’t needed, as Stephen Curry exploded for 40 points. There aren’t many players that are more dangerous than him.
Golden State continues their east coast road trip, as they’ll play Orlando on Wednesday. That will be followed up by a rematch against Charlotte on Friday. I’m sure that Charlotte hasn’t forgotten the beating that they received a few weeks ago from them. Then on Sunday, they head up to face Detroit in what should be a fun matchup for Bogut. Andre Drummond has gotten off to a slow start this season, but remains as one of the top up-and-coming stars in the league. Then they finish off the week at home in a rematch against Orlando. At 11-2, the season couldn’t be going better for Golden State. They’ve lived up to expectations as one of the top teams in the West.
Photo: AP/Kathy Willens
It was a very forgettable week for Bojan Bogdanović and the Brooklyn Nets. In a very winnable game, they managed to lose in a triple-overtime thriller against Milwaukee. Both teams were hitting unbelievable threes, yet missing clear opportunities throughout each quarter. Bogdanović played a career high of 47 minutes in the 122-118 loss to the Bucks. Bojan only shot 7 for 16, but managed to hit four crucial three-pointers in key moments. It was also positive to see him contribute with seven rebounds, as the game became more physical. Despite the productive numbers, Bogdanović missed a good look from three-point range that would have given the Nets a one-point lead with 28 seconds left in triple overtime. While his teammates are starting to trust him more, missed opportunities like that can come back to haunt you. Deron Williams didn’t look his way on the next possession, which led to a poor shot by Joe Johnson that didn’t come close to tying the game.
Bojan Bogdanović against the Bucks
The losing streak finally came to a halt in a 94-92 victory in Oklahoma City. Bogdanović failed to hit a shot from five attempts in just 24 minutes. Brooklyn decided to ride the hot hand in Jarrett Jack and move Joe Johnson to small forward throughout the game. Despite their injuries, Oklahoma City still has one of the better defenses in the league. They are an athletic group that rotates efficiently. A combination like that will force Bogdanović into taking poor shots and making him partially an afterthought. The opportunities to take open three-pointers become extinct, which leads to him fading away. We’ve yet to see him fully become consistent in driving to the hoop or creating an opportunity for others.
The shooting slump continued in a 99-87 loss to the Spurs. Bogdanović missed all seven of his shots in 24 minutes of play. The most alarming stat from his horrific performance was that five of those shots were from three-point range. According to Probasketballtalk.com, more than half of Bogdanović’s shots have been from three-point range. Only 23 percent of his shots this season have been at the rim. Most of those shots had come from Williams leading the fast break. It’s an eye-opening stat that has led to Lionel Hollins publicly addressing his struggles. Hollins simply stated that “Bojan needs to toughen up and attack the rim” more often. “We haven’t seen him get to the free-throw line enough”.
These are fair points by Hollins. For a player who averages 30 minutes a game, it’s unacceptable for him to only average 1.4 free throws a game. Bogdanović may be considered as the outside shooting specialist within the offense, but he needs to be more active. Whether it’s cutting to the lane more often or even driving to the basket, Bojan can’t simply rely on Williams or Johnson to find him open on the baseline. I’m sure that he’ll continue to shoot from the outside, which he should considering that’s his forte. A better ratio of relying on good looks to creating good looks is what needs to occur for his overall progression this season. Brooklyn is just sixteenth in the league in points scored per game. They could certainly use a boost in production from him.
Bogdanović’s potential resurgence can start on Wednesday against the lowly 76ers. It shouldn’t take long for him to end this dreaded streak of missing his last 13 shots. That will be followed up by a difficult home game against Chicago on Sunday. The Bulls are one of the most disciplined defenses in the leagues. It’s games like that, where Bojan will need to insert himself without relying on shooting from three-point range heavily. A Tuesday night cross-town rivalry game against the Knicks ends the week for them. At 5-8, Brooklyn has a good opportunity to be 7-9 at minimum.
Photo: Dallas Mavericks
A decline in minutes was bound to happen for Damjan Rudež, given his poor shooting this season. Rudež has shot just 30 percent from three-point range this season. Frank Vogel positioned him to be one of his top shooters to come off the bench buthat has failed to work for most of the season. With Rodney Stuckey back in the fray, there are only so many shots that can go around. In an 88-86 win over Charlotte, Rudež played only five minutes and actually managed to hit his only three-point attempt of the game. Stuckey may be inconsistent, but he’s a proven playmaker that can put up points in a hurry.
Rudež received a slight bump in minutes against the Suns, due to Roy Hibbert spraining his ankle. In 16 minutes of play, Damjan scored four points on two of six shooting. Phoenix eventually pulled away in a 106-83 victory. The Suns have a free flowing style of basketball that they like to push the pace at will. Indiana failed to adjust by shooting just 37 percent from the field and allowing far too many easy baskets. It was another forgettable game for them against a fairly good team.
Damjan Rudež against Dallas
A road trip to Dallas is one of the last places that they wanted to go. Hibbert wasn’t able to play; yet Indiana went on to have one of their most efficient games of the season. In a 111-100 victory, they shot 48 percent from the field and connected on 13 threes. Damjan tied a career-high with 11 points in just 15 minutes of action. Dallas looked out of sync defensively, as they allowed Rudež to be wide open on several occasions. Whether it was reading the scouting report wrong or being simply lazy, it was surprising to see a Rick Carlisle coached team play that lethargic. This was a promising performance for Rudež, given his struggles with his shooting. There are only so many opportunities that will be given to him on this ravaged Pacers team.
Indiana is quietly one of the more surprising teams in the East. At 6-8, they’ve been exceeding expectations despite not having a true number one scorer on their roster. Their success comes on the defensive side of the ball from being fourth in points allowed per game. This week will be a great test for them starting on Wednesday traveling to San Antonio. Then they quickly return home to play Orlando on Friday. The road trip continues on Saturday to play the disappointing Cleveland Cavaliers. The long week ends in starting a West coast trip against Portland on Tuesday. A brutal schedule ahead for them, but an overall great test.
~Written by Allen Strk
Twitter: @Allen_Strk
my beloved Rijeka still hanging in there in the EL after a 2-0 win
KREPAT MA NE MOLAT!
Another ill place soccer post.
Perisic played well in Europa league game against Everton.
Scored a goal that was questionably disallowed.
@Allen,
Well done sir!
I don’t want to say anything about Bogut, don’t want to jinx him.
Bogdanovic will need some time to adjust to the NBA. Lots of games, different language, the NBA ball is lighter than the Euro ball, and obviously the competition it the best in the world. He’ll be fine.
@Faux Cro,
I will let the first comment slide since we don’t have Croatians Around Europe on the home page.
@Allen:
Thanks for the write up.
I apologize to Denis in advance for a non bball post.
http://www.goal.com/en-us/match/atlético-madrid-vs-olympiakos-piraeus/1923671/ratings?ICID=MP_MS_6
MOTM 5 stars SMM