WASHINGTON D.C. -- His head down and his words coming quickly, Andrew Bogut talked like a man without answers. His Milwaukee Bucks, the darlings of the NBA last season before a devastating elbow injury to Bogut stalled their progress, had just lost to the lowly Washington Wizards to fall to 20-31 on the season. Eager reporters looked for explanations, but there was really nothing Bogut could say. Instead, all he gave was the all-too-familiar refrain that has, shockingly, dogged his team this year.
Andrew Bogut Never Fully Recovered From Last Year’s Injury, And The Bucks Are Paying The Price
Last year, Andrew Bogut emerged and made his formerly-anonymous Milwaukee Bucks relevant before suffering a horrendous injury. One year later, though, the Bucks have faded back, and Bogut still is not 100 percent healthy.
"We didn't bring it tonight, it's as simple as that," he said.
All the while, his teammates looked battered and defeated. Brandon Jennings soaked his recovering foot, the same one that caused him to miss 19 games, in a bucket of ice. Corey Maggette did the same, even though he’s only missed five games on the season. John Salmons stood shirtless in disbelief, talking about how the team needed a “fresh start” after starting the year with “higher expectations.” But no player seemed more battered and defeated than Bogut, who admitted to me that his right elbow has not fully recovered from the scary fall he took last April.
“It’s one of those things where I probably came back a little fast,” he said. “There’s still a lot of scar tissue in there, so after the season, I’m going to get it scoped to get [the scar tissue] out.”
It was a depressing scene, one that few imagined before the season started when Milwaukee was being talked up as a legitimate Eastern Conference threat. Spearheaded by Jennings’ confidence (“Everybody should be worried about us,” he said back in September), the Bucks seemed ready to take the next step, finally raising themselves from the irrelevancy that has occupied most of their last 20 years. Instead, the Bucks have been ravaged by injuries, disappointment and player regressions, and have faded right back into their hole despite a bottom of the Eastern Conference that is very much up for grabs.
“It’s important for us to beat the teams we’re capable of beating,” Maggette said afterwards. “There shouldn’t be a point where we have these fall-back games.”
There have been many setbacks for the Bucks, but none has been more damaging or symbolic than Bogut’s downfall. Last year, Bogut was a true joy to watch, as he finally put it all together and became the team’s anchor. The Bucks’ entire offensive and defensive philosophy revolved around him. On offense, he was their best post scorer, their best rebounder, their best screener and arguably their second-best passer. On defense, he managed to somehow be one of the league’s best shot blockers (2.5 a game) and one of its most fundamentally-sound defenders (he was tied for second in the league in most charges taken, despite only playing 69 games). No center, other than Dwight Howard, did more to help his team win.
And really, few other players symbolized his city more. When Bogut was drafted No. 1 overall in 2005, the expectation was never that he would be a star. Chad Ford’s 2005 draft profile compared him to Vlade Divac and Brad Miller, but the Bucks took him anyway over flashier guys like Marvin Williams and Chris Paul, harkening back to the days where big men were automatically taken over elite wings just because they are big men. For several years, Bogut was neither terrible nor great; just an average lost soul doing average things in a northern outpost of the league. Finally, last season, he, like his team, became relevant. Maybe not relevant like draft class members like Paul and Deron Williams, but still relevant enough to matter to basketball fans.
So it was particularly cruel to see Bogut’s season end the way it did, with crippling pain to his elbow and hand thanks to a nasty fall after a slam dunk. People just don’t injure those kinds of body parts, and as it turns out, we took his recovery for granted. As early as the preseason, Bogut was saying he wasn’t fully healthy, and clearly, it has carried over. His True Shooting percentage is down below the 50 percent line. His patented hook shots and runners are going in less frequently. His free-throw percentage is a ghastly 42 percent, way down from 63 percent last season. He still rebounds and block shots, but his impact on the game has lessened considerably.
Bogut admitted he probably came back too soon from the injury, but doesn’t appear to have any plans to sit out. The playoffs are still within reach if they can do a better job of what coach Scott Skiles deemed “beating teams at or below our record.” But Bogut has also been unable to do so much of what he could do last year, and because of that, a mediocre Bucks offense has plummeted to amazing depths (only Cleveland scores fewer points per 100 possessions, and barely).
“My scoring is going to take a dip. I’m missing free throws. I’m missing jumpers,” Bogut lamented. “I’m relying too much on my left hand. That’s something I expected before the season.”
There are other problems in Milwaukee, to be fair. Jennings’ injury, Salmons’ ineffectiveness, the absence of Carlos Delfino, the team’s glue last season, for many games and Skiles’ tendency to get tuned out after three years on the job are all playing a role. But none are bigger, and more unfortunate, than the career rise of a formerly-anonymous No. 1 overall pick being derailed by injury.
“Every NBA team goes through the same kinds of injuries, so there’s no excuse,” Bogut said. “Every NBA team goes through injuries.” he said.
It’s true, but still a shame. When he was healthy, Bogut was the hub that powered the plucky, overachieving upstarts. With him struggling through injury, his team is now an afterthought again.
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