Golden State's injury-prone big man could miss time in the playoffs.
The Golden State Warriors were dealt a tough blow when Andrew Bogut was diagnosed with fractured ribs on Monday night before team's game against the Minnesota Timberwolves. The team has ruled Bogut out indefinitely, and it puts the center's postseason availability in jeopardy. There is no timetable for Bogut's return, but ESPN's Kevin Pelton recently gave some context on how long it takes players to recover from a fractured rib.
Rib fractures uncommon in the NBA. Ty Lawson missed 3 weeks earlier this year and Aron Baynes recently missed 2 weeks.
— Kevin Pelton (@kpelton) April 15, 2014The Warriors have been fighting with the Blazers for the No. 5 spot for the last two weeks, but were lost their chance when they were defeated by Portland on Sunday.
Instead, Golden State is likely to face the Clippers in the first round if they can hold on to the No. 6 spot. They have two games left on the season: One at home against the Timberwolves on Monday, and Wednesday at Denver.
The good news for fans in the Bay Area is that the Warriors have already clinched their playoff spot. But without Bogut, the carefully-crafted defensive machine Mark Jackson has put together might just fall apart come playoff time.
Bogut is averaging 7.7 points, 10 rebounds and 1.8 blocks per-game this season. Jermaine O'Neal will likely see the bulk of his minutes in Bogut's absence.