Photo: AP Photo/Phelan M. Ebenhack
We’ve now reached the third consecutive undefeated week for Andrew Bogut and the Golden State Warriors. They can’t stop winning and continue to play incredible team basketball. It all began against the Orlando Magic last Wednesday, where they won 111-96 in convincing fashion. Bogut filled up the stat sheet with six points, twelve rebounds, and season-high seven assists in just 24 minutes of action. His deceptive ability of finding the open man was on display throughout the game. Harrison Barnes was on the receiving end of two well sought out passes from Bogut. Andrew’s highlight of the night was a steal that led to him using behind a back pass that somehow fell right into Klay Thompson’s hands. Barnes finished off the fast break from another jaw-dropping pass from Bogut. Although some believed Marc Jackson shouldn’t have been fired, it sure looks like it now watching how much better Bogut and Barnes are playing.
Golden State continues to play like a team and that benefited them again in a come from behind 106-101 victory over the Charlotte Bobcats. Bogut was plagued by foul trouble, which led to him receiving just 24 minutes of action. That didn’t stop him from filling up the stat sheet. Andrew had six points, five rebounds, five assists, and three blocks to continue his rejuvenated season. His shot blocking skills were on display by swatting away shots from Lance Stephenson and Cody Zeller in emphatic fashion. The star backcourt duo of Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson struggled in combining to shoot 16 for 42 from the field. Marreese Speights carried the scoring load for the second time this year with 27 points. Golden State’s incredible depth has become well documented through Speights and Andre Iguodala playing well off the bench.
The wins continue to rack up, as Golden State breezed past the lowly Detroit Pistons 104-93 on Sunday. Stingy defense was on display, as Detroit only shot 37 percent from the field. Bogut played a major role in that through holding star center Andre Drummond to two points on one of eight shooting. This also included six points, nine rebounds, and five blocks on the stat sheet. Bogut thoroughly outplayed him through 29 minutes of action. Andrew is starting to become more of the fifth option in the offense, but has fully embraced the role. Whenever the ball is in his hands, he’s much more than a scorer. Through seventeen games this season, he’s only averaging six shots per game. That would be the second lowest shot total for him in his career, although that surely hasn’t bothered him.
Golden State’s long winning streak was nearly snapped by the Orlando Magic out of all the teams. After thoroughly getting dominated last Wednesday by them, Orlando played more efficiently. Victor Oladipo carried them with 26 points on 10 of 14 shooting. Oladipo and Tobias Harris hit unbalanced shots all night long to fluster Golden State. Eventually Curry and Thompson took over and hit a combined four three-pointers in the final three minutes. Curry’s game winner kept the winning streak alive in a 98-97 stunner. Bogut was efficient again through seven points, twelve rebounds, and a second consecutive game with five blocks. At fourth in the NBA in blocks, Bogut has reclaimed his spot as one of the top enforcers in NBA. Instead of just being a very-good defender, we’ve seen him become the enforcer that he was in Milwaukee from 2009-2011.
Andrew Bogut highlights against the Magic
Golden State will look to continue their unbelievable winning streak on national television tonight. They will host the improving Pelicans that can pose a challenge to any team in the league. A two-game road trip begins on Saturday against Chicago. One of the toughest interior defenses in the league could pose another tough challenge for Bogut. Then they head to Minnesota on Monday to take on the Timberwolves, who somehow just lost to the lowly Philadelphia 76ers. Dwight Howard’s status is unclear, but Bogut could be facing his ultimate challenge in the upcoming week on Wednesday. Houston comes into town, as they’ve started off the season at 13-4. A potential playoff matchup could be brewing.
Photo: AP/Kathy Willens
Bojan Bogdanović was on a 0-13 shooting slump going into last week. Lionel Hollins publicly stated that he wanted him to be more aggressive. A matchup against the lowly Philadelphia 76ers should do the trick. Instead it was an ugly game that featured 44 turnovers combined between both teams. Brooklyn ended up pulling away in the end of a 99-91 win. Bogdanović played just 25 minutes and scored six points on two of five shooting. Three of those shots were from three-point range, as Bojan still seems reliant on shooting from there. It also didn’t do him any good being on the receiving end of a highlight-reel dunk from K.J McDaniels. Despite the good matchup on paper, it was another forgettable game for him.
The long slump finally ended against the Chicago Bulls on Sunday. While Brooklyn was on the receiving end of a 102-84 loss, Bogdanović was the only player who shined. We finally got to see him take defenders on and make plays on his own. Bojan maneuvered around the lane and hit a couple of tough mid-range jumpers with a defender right in his face. Then he took advantage of Doug McDermott, who was over-matched defensively. Bogdanović scored 13 points on six of twelve shooting, along with five rebounds. Brooklyn shot 37 percent and couldn’t crack a stingy Chicago defense consistently, but Bojan was the only standout in a positive light. This was the first time all year that he seemed to attack the basket and have a fair amount of success.
Bogdanović highlights against the Bulls
Bogdanović continued his strong play in a 98-93 victory over the New York Knicks. Out of ten shots, only one of them came from three-point range. Bojan is starting to be more aggressive and picking his spots to cut to the basket. His defensive lapses remain an issue, as Jose Calderon made him pay on multiple occasions during the Knicks late-game run. Bogdanović had ten points, two assists, and two rebounds from 40 minutes of play. Lionel Hollins had started to grow more trust in him following the breakthrough of his recent shooting slump.
A rematch against the San Antonio Spurs was the end of the week for the Nets. It was a frantic game that they were actually in control of. Eventually, the Spurs talent took over and was hitting several key threes led by Danny Green. The game had to go to overtime and Bogdanović began to crack. While having 14 points and eight rebounds in 34 minutes is relatively a solid night, Bogdanović nearly cost them a huge win. San Antonio brilliantly trapped him in the corner in order for him to force an errant pass. That couldn’t even happen, given their suffocating defense. A crucial turnover by him and the Spurs had a chance to win it. Manu Ginobili had an opportunity to win the game, but Bogdanović closed in well to force a tough shot. That was just enough and for him not to be in the “doghouse” once again in a 95-93 victory.
Brooklyn continues their home stretch by playing the Hawks on Friday. That will be followed up by a showdown against the well-hyped Cleveland Cavaliers on Monday. Then they hit the road on Wednesday in a rematch against Chicago. Three likely playoff teams that could very well play the Nets come playoff time. They’ll have to play much better in a more competitive Eastern conference for those last two seeds. Bogdanović could end up facing the likes of LeBron James and Jimmy Butler on various occasions. There isn’t much of a better litmus test based on how both players have played this season.
Photo: NBA
Damjan Rudež was coming off his most productive performance in Indiana’s upset win over Dallas from last Monday night. The Pacers continued their road trip last Wednesday to take on the San Antonio Spurs. Rudež continued his hot shooting by going three for six, including two for four from three-point range in just 18 minutes. It was strange to see such a disciplined team give him room to shoot. While his defensive shortcomings are evident, Rudež is starting to show improvement in being a shooter off the bench. Indiana continues to play well, as they only lost 106-100 to last year’s champions.
Sadly in his case, it was only a matter of time before David West came back. Indiana’s star power forward made his long-awaited season debut against the Orlando Magic and was already the best player on the court. With Lavoy Allen and Chris Copeland outplaying Rudež, it led to his first DNP of the season. It was somewhat of a harsh decision, considering he was coming off two productive games. This was going to eventually happen, even on a team that is as limited offensively as Indiana is. Indiana went onto win 99-83 in a convincing home victory.
Rudež managed to make a brief appearance in a 109-97 loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers. In seven minutes of action, Damjan hit a three on one of two shooting. Once Cleveland went to a bigger lineup with Tristian Thompson and Kevin Love, Indiana made quick adjustments to get not caught out of position. They couldn’t afford to keep West, Lavoy Allen, or Ian Mahinmi out for very long. The road trip continued to Arizona, where they couldn’t adjust to certain issues Damjan suffered the same fate in Phoenix, where he only played two minutes and his lone three-pointer went in.
Indiana finishes up their road trip on Thursday against Portland and Sacramento on Saturday. Then they place a much-improving Hawks team on Monday and a showdown against Los Angeles Clippers. It’s hard to place expectations on Rudež, given the spot that he’s been. This may be the case going forward, due all the talent at forward for Indiana.
~Written by Allen Strk
Twitter: @Allen_Strk
Appreciate that very much Colin! Hopefully we can, will keep you updated on what’s going on. We’ve been trying to, but got to see how the schedule fits. Some arenas are different in terms of allowing media in.
Never in my life have I ever paid attention the the NBA, but I’ve been reading Allen’s write ups the past few weeks and have found my self keeping up with it somewhat. What have you done to me, Allen?
Also, any chance of getting any interviews with any of these players? Bodganovic and Rudez? Both of them will be playing in Orlando against the Magic in January. I’m thinking of trying to catch the game there.
Bogdanović is playing solid. Deron Williams, joe Johnson and Lopez take 5 dribbles to make one move : ball killers.
Hezonja projected top shooting guard in next years nba draft.
Šarić made a smart move avoiding 76’s till he and they are ready for the nba.
With Dragan Bender coming down the pike we should be good for the next 10 years.
Need to cultivate a real point guard. I guess if you are under 6’5″ and talented your are playing nogomet or worse rukamet.
Need to get the košarku at the level of nogomet.
Bogut should have been scooped up as a 17 year old, ali domaći znaju sve uvijek.
Monte no longer being on the Bucks validates the point even further. Mavs weren’t the ones who traded for him.
🙂
@Ivica,
You will continue to bring up that trade haha. Monte Ellis isn’t too shabby for the Mavs right now.
Bad, bad trade that Golden State made.
They could have been an elite team like the Bucks right now.
😉