Golden State Warriors: Andrew Bogut’s Presence Is Finally Being Felt

Andrew Bogut, right, is finally playing consistent enough minutes for the Golden State Warriors to make life miserable in the paint for opponents such as DeMarcus Cousins of the Sacramento Kings. Photo Credit: Matthew Addie, Flickr.com

Andrew Bogut hasn’t lived up to expectation with the Golden State Warriors. I think he knows that, the fans know that and the coaching staff knows that. And of course, there have been some bumpy moments between Bogut and the fans. Remember, Monta Ellis was the man who was traded away for the Australian big man and Ellis was the face of the Warriors at the time. Saying it didn’t sit well with the fans would be an understatement.

However, Bogut is slowly but surely winning these fans back. Not with his attention-grabbing accent, but with his solid interior presence, mainly on defense, where the Warriors have improved vastly over their past five games.

Since Feb. 17, the Warriors are second to only the Indiana Pacers in defense rating (93.5). In other words, they have given up only 93.5 points per 100 possessions, which is quite good. Considering that they compiled a 100.5 defensive rating in the eight games prior to Feb. 17, it’s even better.

But those two figures can’t merely describe Bogut’s impact.

Golden State has held opponents to a 27.3 percent 3-point shooting percentage over their last five games, the third-best mark in the NBA. No, Bogut isn’t sprinting out of the paint to contest shots. He isn’t that agile. His presence is, however, allowing the Warriors’ guards to stay home on shooters, thus creating more difficult shots for their opponents.

Before Bogut started to amass consistent minutes, it was chaos in the paint. Guards were sliding down to help out and while Festus Ezeli does occasionally block shots, he isn’t the overall defensive player that Bogut is. He often gets lured into rookie mistakes, which quickly lands him on the bench.

Bogut’s presence isn’t just helping indirectly either.

Opponents are often halted when they slither their way to the basket, as Bogut’s shot-blocking prowess has been rejuvenated, probably because he is healthier. He’s averaging 2.2 blocks over his last five games. In turn, opponents are shooting just 49.6 percent in the restricted area during that span, which is the second best (or worst for the offense) in the league.

Overall, the Warriors defensive field-goal percentage over their last five games in 39 percent. Not only is that again second to the Pacers, but it’s scored them a 4-1 record, pretty much sealing their playoff hopes.

Five games is a short sample size, and it isn’t time to hold a celebration, yet. But the Warriors do look like a defensive team. Defense was the one factor that propelled them off to such a hot start, then it tailed off somewhere in between. Had it never tailed off, they could very well be competing for home court advantage.

That thought is probably tough to swallow for the Warriors. Their home court would’ve surely boosted them, being one of the most loyal fan bases the NBA has to offer. But the more important thing is that they’re getting in the groove at the right time–playoff time.

And while Bogut isn’t producing eye-popping stat lines, he’s solidified the Warriors defense. It took a great deal of patience from the Warriors, but they’ve finally found a formula for success on defense.