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| 3-point contest at All-Star |
| OAKLAND, Calif. -- At the beginning of training camp, Andrew Bogut set a goal to play all 82 regular-season games and regain his place among the NBAs best centres. Hes on pace to come awfully close. With his health no longer holding him back, Bogut has been a force in the middle for the Golden State Warriors (29-19) entering Tuesday nights home game against the Charlotte Bobcats. He ranks near the top of the league in blocks, rebounds and defensive ratings, and he has begun to silence the chatter that hes a player who is always hurt. "I havent felt this great in while," Bogut said after Mondays practice, then quickly asking not to jinx his good fortune. "Touch wood," he said. The 7-footer from Australia, who has a well-documented history of injuries, has played in 47 of 48 games -- with his lone absence stemming from a suspension handed down by the NBA for his role in a scrum against Portland. Bogut had played in only 44 games the past two seasons combined. Boguts presence has been especially big considering his primary backups, Jermaine ONeal and Festus Ezeli, have been out most of the season. "Hes been spectacular, protecting the paint, setting screens, rebounding the basketball, being a leader, being durable," Warriors coach Mark Jackson said. "If hes not here, youre asking basically a power forward to be a (centre), and to do it for a lengthy period of time is a recipe for disaster. But hes been awesome, and certainly should be in the discussion for Defensive Player of the Year." The Warriors took a big risk by signing Bogut to a three-year, $36 million extension in October that could be worth up to about $42 million with incentives. They also took a gamble when they acquired Bogut in a trade-deadline deal in March 2012 that sent guard Monta Ellis to Milwaukee. Bogut did not play for Golden State that season while recovering from a fractured left ankle. Bogut battled back and knee injuries while averaging a career-low 5.8 points to go with 7.7 rebounds last season, but he was at his best in the playoffs, making a major difference on defence to help the Warriors advance to the second round. Bogut missed the end of the 2009-10 season with the Bucks when he dislocated his right elbow, sprained his right wrist and broke his right hand in a hard fall to the floor. He also missed significant time with an injured lower back in the 2008-09 season. Bogut has repeatedly called both injuries "freak accidents." "People that label me injury-prone, its fair enough, I understand it," Bogut said. "But to say that theyre chronic injuries, those people are idiots. Two injuries that have hurt my career and probably shortened the length of my career and probably a little bit of my playing ability are completely out of my control." Even still, the setbacks have taken a toll -- physically and mentally. At one point while rehabbing his ankle last season, Bogut said he was in a "dark place" and even considered retirement. Instead, Golden States surprising playoff run -- and his big role in it -- left him rejuvenated. He lost about 15 pounds this off-season, and the only real injury scare cost him some practice time in January after he strained his right knee. Bogut is averaging 10.6 rebounds and two blocks per game, and he has the NBAs third-best defensive rating -- which is calculated by how many points are given up per 100 possessions while a player is on the floor. Offence is still something that has eluded Bogut since his elbow injury, though on a Golden State team stacked with shooters, hes not asked to score much. Bogut is averaging 8.2 points, which is sixth on the team, but he leads the Warriors with 64 per cent shooting -- with most of his points coming on pick-and-roll dunks or put-back rebounds. Hes also rediscovering his passing ability -- once considered among the best for NBAs centres -- lately, including tying his season high with five assists in Fridays win at Utah. "Hes talented, man," point guard Stephen Curry said. "Its not often you see a big man get the rebound, push in transition, change directions a couple times, read the defence and make behind-the-back passes and one-handed passes for a backdoor cut. That creativity he has, Ive rarely seen it for a guy his size." Bogut, now 29, has concentrated on becoming a more versatile defender. Hes not just guarding centres near the rim, but often going out against power forwards, including holding down All-Star starter Blake Griffin in a win over the Clippers last week. Bogut believes hes "close" to playing the best defence of his career, and hes making a strong case to be on the first or second All-NBA Defensive teams. The only time Bogut could remember playing this well was before his injury in the 2009-10 season, when he finished second behind Orlandos Dwight Howard in blocks per game but didnt even get a vote for the defensive teams that season. "Hopefully, I can make up for that this season," Bogut said. "But awards are predicated on how the team is, how the success of the team is, so if we go to the playoffs and make some noise, I think all that stuff will take care of itself." Cheap NFL Jerseys China . Kiffin was demoted Tuesday in favour of defensive line coach Rod Marinelli, and Scott Linehan was hired as the passing game co-ordinator who will call plays. Cheap NFL Jerseys . 3 in his prime. His killer crossover in his rookie season that dusted Michael Jordan. The jumper he buried over Tyronn Lue, then the highstep over the fallen Lakers defender in Game 1 of the 2001 NBA Finals. http://www.cheapjerseyschinanfl.us.com/. The latest quarterfinal match-up features Detroit Red Wings Gustav Nyquist taking on Colorado Avalanche netminder Reto Berra. Cheap Jerseys . -- The Toronto Marlies took to the outdoor ice at Ivor Wynne Stadium on Saturday with child-like enthusiasm.NEW YORK -- They were bloodied and eventually beaten, though not before delivering the type of effort Gregg Popovich always expects of his San Antonio Spurs. Even when his team is so banged-up that it had two guys in protective facemasks on the court at the same time -- and one of them broke his nose again, anyway. "I know we didnt look pretty," Popovich said. "Im more interested in results than how we look. So I thought they performed well." The short-handed Spurs hung in, but Alan Anderson scored 19 of his 22 points in the second half to lead the Brooklyn Nets to a 103-89 victory Thursday night. Despite playing without Tony Parker, Tim Duncan, Manu Ginobili and Kawhi Leonard, their top four scorers, the Spurs were still within five points early in the fourth quarter before the Nets pulled away for good. Deron Williams added 16 points and eight assists as Brooklyn ended a six-game losing streak to San Antonio with its first victory since March 29, 2010. The Spurs overcame all their challenges to pull out a 125-118 double-overtime victory at Washington on Wednesday, but didnt have enough to beat an improving Brooklyn team and fell to 2-1 on their nine-game rodeo trip. "Im disappointed we didnt win," Popovich said, shrugging off the injuries. "Im thinking we make a couple of 3s in the second half and we hang right in there, and thats the way youve got to look at it." Nando De Colo started for Parker, but had to rush off the court bleeding from the nose after he was whacked while trying to defend Andrei Kirilenko. He returned in the second half wearing a mask, as Matt Bonner already was. Bonner took another hit later and said he broke another bone in his nose. Cory Joseph scored 18 for the Spurs, Danny Green had 17 and Patty Mills 16. Paul Pierce had 12 points for the Nets, who have turned things around since the Spurs outclassed them 112-93 in San Antonio on New Years Eve, leaving Brooklyn at 10-21. They are 12-4 in 2014 and have won two straight since dropping three in a row, all against division leaders. "Weve got the pieces," Anderson said. "Were finally starting to turn the corner a lot more lately. I just want to win no matter how much Im pplaying.dddddddddddd" The Spurs trotted out Green, Marco Belinelli, Tiago Splitter, Joseph and De Colo to start, an unheralded lineup similar to the one Popovich used when he sent Duncan, Parker, Ginobili and Green home before another Thursday night nationally televised game at Miami early last season. That decision cost the Spurs a $250,000 fine from former Commissioner David Stern, but Popovich didnt have much of a choice who he played this time. Ginobili (left hamstring) and Leonard (broken bone in right hand) were already out, and Popovich noticed Parker labouring with a back injury during the first half Wednesday. Parker then sat the remainder of the game, and Duncan played a season-high 40 minutes, well more than Popovich prefers to use the 37-year-old forward and essentially mandating a night off Thursday. Making matters worse, Boris Diaw then was vomiting during the day at the team hotel because of food poisoning and couldnt play. "Really wishing that some of those guys were healthy right now," said Green, who played 35 minutes after logging 46 Wednesday. "Its always good to play a lot of minutes, but at the same time it would have been nice to have some of those guys healthy tonight." The guys that were left raced to a 20-8 lead and were ahead the whole first quarter, settling for a 24-17 advantage. The Nets took a 40-39 lead into halftime when Williams made a jumper with 38 seconds remaining. With the Nets leading by two late in the third, Anderson converted a three-point play, his first of seven straight Brooklyn points to end the quarter and give the Nets a 75-68 lead. He another three-point play with the Nets ahead by five in the fourth, and his 3-pointer made it 87-77 and the Nets were comfortably ahead from there. "I thought he was taking wide-open shots. He was also being aggressive, driving the ball knowing that they didnt have any shot blocking," Nets coach Jason Kidd said. Notes: The Nets Joe Johnson and the Belinelli were announced Thursday as competitors in the 3-point contest at All-Star Saturday night. ... Parker and Ginobili also missed the Nets previous victory in the series. The Nets havent beaten the Spurs when those two played since Nov. 13, 2002, according to STATS. wholesale stitched jerseys wholesale jerseys wholesale nfl jerseys cheap nfl jerseys cheap nfl jerseys china ' ' ' |
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posted on: 11/05/2015 02:51:24 AM
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