A potential series changer in the NBA Finals is the status of Andrew Bogut. The Golden State Warriors center went down with a left knee strain early in the third quarter of the Game 5 loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers, and did not return to action. The Warriors, already playing without Draymond Green Monday night due to suspension, had almost no rim protection after that moment and ended up losing by double digits. For the Warriors, his status for Game 6 could greatly influence just how they decide to try to close out the series in Cleveland.
Bogut had an MRI on Tuesday, and while the results of the MRI haven't been revealed just yet, Marc Stein is reporting the Warriors center will travel to Cleveland for Thursday night's game. There is hope that Bogut didn't suffer any structural damage to the knee, but we don't know his status.
Injured center Andrew Bogut traveled with the Golden State Warriors to Cleveland on Tuesday afternoon in advance of Thursday night's Game 6 in the NBA Finals, according to league sources, but a firm status update on Bogut's health wasn't expected until later Tuesday night.
Sources told ESPN.com that Bogut underwent an MRI exam on his sprained left knee Tuesday morning as scheduled. Yet sources said the results of that exam were being evaluated further by the Warriors' medical team during their Ohio-bound flight.
For the Warriors, they don't just miss Bogut's defense at times, but the screens he sets for Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson. They're not always the most textbook, legal screens, but his ability to separate the defenders from the Splash Brothers is a subtle but necessary part of their offensive attack. And defensively, he anchors the defense quite well when the Warriors go with a more traditional lineup.
Steve Kerr will have to decide just how much to use their small ball Death Lineup in Game 6, whether Bogut is healthy enough to play or not. The Warriors can either try to go very small like they did in the Finals a year ago, or they can hope the combination of Festus Ezeli, Anderson Varejao and Marreese Speights gives them enough at the center position.
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