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Golden State Warriors: Andrew Bogut The Underlying Catalyst For Game 3

By Josh Wilson

May 21, 2015; Oakland, CA, USA; Golden State Warriors center Andrew Bogut (12) reacts during the 99-98 victory against the Houston Rockets during the second half in game two of the Western Conference Finals of the NBA Playoffs. at Oracle Arena. Mandatory Credit: Cary Edmondson-USA TODAY Sports
May 21, 2015; Oakland, CA, USA; Golden State Warriors center Andrew Bogut (12) reacts during the 99-98 victory against the Houston Rockets during the second half in game two of the Western Conference Finals of the NBA Playoffs. at Oracle Arena. Mandatory Credit: Cary Edmondson-USA TODAY Sports /
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Andrew Bogut was the unsung hero of Game 3 of the Western Conference Finals for the Golden State Warriors. OK, I guess he wasn’t really a “hero,” but he was a huge reason the ball got rolling so quickly in the first place. Right off the bat in the first half, he was showing he was going to be a reason the Warriors would go on to take a huge win.

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He’s been quiet for most of the playoffs, but really hit his groove in the last two games against the Houston Rockets, scoring 14 points in Game 2, and shooting 78 percent from the field. In Game 3, he shot 63 percent from the field and finished with 12 points.

While most of his shots are within 10 feet of the hoop, this amount of production is still important to have, and very impressive, especially given that he was unable to do this early on in the playoffs. In their first 11 playoff games this year, Bogut was held to single digits in all but their first game against the New Orleans Pelicans.

His production is great, but seemingly overshadowed by the high performance of Stephen Curry and the emergence of Draymond Green.

After an incredibly clutch tip-in, he was shooting 100 percent in the second quarter, but not getting much attention from the TV commentators by any means. The most said about him during the game was that he, “always looks like he’s in pain” [Mike Breen].

Of course, this doesn’t mean his impact was not acknowledged, but fans didn’t seem to be aware of what he was doing during the game.

One commentator did give Bogut some great credit. Jalen Rose credited him for “opening the floodgates” with his 10 points and perfect shooting in the first half. And he’s absolutely right. Bogut was the intrinsic key to the first half and the game and quickly became a paint presence.

Just check out this big alley-oop slam Bogut had in the first half, assisted by Green, who had a double-double in this game.

Plays like this seemed to happen repeatedly in the first half for Bogut. A paint presence, as I said earlier.

Five for five. That was Bogut’s shot statistic for the first half. This was striking on its own, but was magnified by the Rockets’ poor shooting percentage, which stayed near 30 percent for the first half and didn’t get much better throughout the game, as they finished at just 34 percent.

He was in contact with the ball on several plays, often being a medium for the ball as it traveled through the play. He became an outlet for moving the ball around, and did it well, even though he was not often credited with the assists.

Bogut also did a great job attacking the boards, ending the game with 12 rebounds.

Even more important than his offensive contribution, he hustled back on defense. Bogut was often given the assignment of defending Rockets big man Dwight Howard when he was on the floor, no easy task. Even so, Bogut hustled from one hoop to the other, always making sure he was on his man, despite the formidable nature of the defensive assignment.

I’m not saying I expected laziness from Bogut, but I was pleasantly surprised with the hustle I did see in the first half.

The biggest problem with Bogut was his foul trouble. Early in the third quarter, Bogut received his fourth foul, and he was forced to sit for a good chunk of the second quarter because of a quick three fouls. As with any big man, this is the usual source of trouble.

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    • Bogut plays a decent physical game, but that physical game can often get you in trouble, just like it did to Bogut. His fourth foul actually came after two consecutive offensive rebounds, where he simply just fought too hard.

    It’s unfortunate because it limits his minutes, especially in games like this where he really begins to be a role player and make a huge court impact. It’s tough to balance a strong paint game while keeping yourself out of foul trouble.

    This foul trouble really prevented Bogut from being too involved in the second half. This is why he was a great catalyst, an activating agent of the Warriors big win, if you will, but not a down-the-stretch player. It’s not always the guys playing in the fourth quarter who are the ones that got things rolling.

    Although guys like Curry who are active players for all four quarters are important, having players who can get the snowball started are also important to the team.

    Bogut is one of these guys, and really showed that in game three, leading the Warriors to a huge playoff win over the Rockets by 35 points, a win that really showed they are ready to take on the Finals.

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