Golden State Warriors’ center Andrew Bogut is finally healthy.
The eight-year veteran out of Utah has played in 47 of the Warriors’ 48 games and told reports he “hasn’t felt this good in awhile.”
His coach is very happy with his play.
“He’s been spectacular, protecting the paint, setting screens, rebounding the basketball, being a leader, being durable,” Warriors coach Mark Jackson told CSN Bay Area. “If he’s not here, you’re asking basically a power forward to be a (center), and to do it for a lengthy period of time is a recipe for disaster. But he’s been awesome, and certainly should be in the discussion for Defensive Player of the Year.”
Jackson backing his guy is obviously something Bogut must enjoy and as Dan Feldman of Pro Basketball Talk points out, Jackson may have a point. He explains the “Warriors defend better when he’s on the court (98.5 points allowed per 100 possessions) than when he’s off (100.4),” but does go on to say that the signing of Andre Iguodala is probably a bigger reason for the Warriors’ improvement on defense.
Bogut is averaging 8.2 points, 10.6 rebounds and 2.0 blocks per game.