Two minutes into his Cleveland Cavaliers debut, center Andrew Bogut suffered a broken tibia in a collision against the Miami Heat.
It’s been a strange last calendar year for Australian center Andrew Bogut. He got hurt in Game 5 of the 2016 NBA Finals and saw his Golden State Warriors blow a 3-1 lead for the title. Team Australia failed to medal at the Rio Games. It didn’t help that the seven-footer had to make his own shower curtains in his Rio dorm.
Bogut was traded in the final year of his contract from Golden State to the Dallas Mavericks to make room for Kevin Durant. He didn’t stay healthy with Dallas and was traded to the Philadelphia 76ers. Bogut didn’t stick with the 76ers and was waived by Philadelphia. He would go on to sign with the Cavaliers for the veteran minimum after getting bought out by the 76ers.
So of course in his Cavaliers debut something weird would happen. Bogut was on the floor for two minutes at Quicken Loans Arena before breaking his foot. According to FOX Sports Ohio’s Sam Amico, “Andrew Bogut has suffered a fractured left tibia.”
Needless to say, Bogut will miss the rest of the season with the fractured foot. Big guys and lower body injuries are never a good combination. It’s a shame that Bogut doesn’t get to play his old team Golden State in the presumptive NBA Finals as a member of the Cavaliers.
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His rim protection, passing ability and all-around leadership style will be missed in the Cleveland frontcourt. Many wondered how Cleveland was able to pry to savvy veterans away from the Dallas Mavericks in Bogut and point guard Deron Williams. Waivers are an interesting beast, but the Bogut era in Cleveland seems to be short-lived.