National Basketball Association

Cast and all, Bogut hits road with Bucks

Published Apr. 16, 2010 11:17 p.m. ET

foxsports

Yes, Andrew Bogut has mustered the guts to watch the grisly footage of his right arm crumpling under the weight of his body, snapping bones in his hand and wrist and dislocating his elbow.

Then again, the Milwaukee Bucks' big man will take just about anything over the drudgery of daytime television right now.

Bogut's season is over. But unlike some professional athletes who fade into the background after sustaining a major injury, he's hitting the road to support his teammates in their first-round playoff series against the Atlanta Hawks beginning Saturday.

``I think it's very important for me as a leader of the team to be around,'' Bogut said. ``Obviously, the last week or two I haven't been around because I've been trying to manage this, with casts and painkillers. I told the staff there's no reason why I can't be in Atlanta supporting the team.''

Making his first formal comments to reporters since being hurt earlier this month, Bogut said it will be a few weeks before he gets the cast off his right arm and hand, which is supported by a bulky brace. It could take months of therapy after that to regain his full range of motion.

But Bogut insists it's a ``no-brainer'' that he'll be ready for training camp next season.

``I'll bounce back,'' he said.

Bogut was the most important player on perhaps the NBA's most surprising team this season, and finally was playing like the No. 1 overall pick in the 2005 draft after the first few years of his development were hindered by injuries.

But his season ended when he wrenched his right arm in a hard crash to the court in Milwaukee's April 3 victory over Phoenix. Bogut said he broke his index finger, fractured bones in his wrist and dislocated his elbow.

Bucks coach Scott Skiles said it will be nice to have Bogut in Atlanta, even if he can't be on the court.

``That thing, when you look at it, basically his whole arm is in a cast, and a couple of his fingers,'' Skiles said. ``It's got to be uncomfortable, a little bit, to even be hanging around on the bench. It's just good that he's around to see it. It's a shame that he's not able to play. It'd be great for him. But to have him around is nice, for sure.''

For Bogut, hitting the road beats sitting on the couch.

``That's the toughest part for me, mentally, especially not being from Milwaukee or the States,'' Bogut said. ``Having no family or real close friends here, it's really mentally draining for me. The first week was just terrible. I was literally just in my bed, then got up and sat on my couch. And daytime TV (stinks). Basically I was on the Internet, but how long can you be on the Internet for?''

Of course, one thing that's all over the Internet is video of Bogut's injury.

``I've seen it,'' he said. ``It's obviously a pretty traumatic thing. I'm not one of those guys that has to look away. It's a part of sports.''

Injuries have held Bogut back in recent years, including a back injury that cut last season short. But Bogut says the two major injuries are both ``freak'' occurrences and shouldn't make people think he'll be injury-prone for the rest of his career.

``I'd hate for people to label me injury-ridden with these kind of injuries, because they're not run-of-the-mill injuries,'' Bogut said.

Bogut's most recent injuries came as he was going up for a fast-break slam dunk. The Suns' Amare Stoudemire put his hand on Bogut's back as he jumped, and Bogut tried to hang on the rim to avoid a fall but his hands slipped.

Bogut is adamant that Stoudemire is not to blame. And in a sense, he considers himself lucky: had he not held out his arm as he fell, he could have landed on his tailbone, potentially aggravating the back injury or even breaking his neck.

``It's not a career-ending injury by any means, which it might have been if I didn't have my hand out there,'' he said.

Still, Bogut can't help but think what might have been possible in the playoffs.

``We still could beat Atlanta, I think, if we play our (best) basketball, but it helps with me in the lineup,'' Bogut said. ``It's just so frustrating that it happened with us having such a good year. I remember last year, we were having a decent year and then I got hurt. Just coming in every day was just hell with the back injury. At least the positive is we're in the playoffs and it's actually exciting to be here.''