The road has not been kind to the Milwaukee Bucks this season and it doesn't help that Andrew Bogut has only played in two of their seven games away from the Bradley Center.
Bogut was out again Friday when Milwaukee was beaten, 102-76, in Dallas. He was scratched just before the game after failing an NBA-mandated test for concussion-like symptoms, the result of a fall sustained late in a 102-93 victory over Detroit Thursday.
He was forced to watch the game from the team hotel, continuing a disappointing start to the 2011-2012 season. Bogut missed the last four games of the team's recent western road trip due to an undisclosed family matter that necessitated a return to his native Australia.
Bogut's teammates expressed their support during that stretch and did so again Friday.
"It was out of his hands," said point guard Brandon Jennings, who led Milwaukee with 19 points Friday. "You can't blame Andrew."
The Bucks are 0-5 when Bogut is not in the lineup. In those five games, the Bucks are averaging 85.6 points per game with 39.4 rebounds and are scoring 36.8 points in the paint. In the six games he's played this season (4-2), those numbers increase to 97.2 points and 39.5 rebounds per game with 42 points per game scored in the paint.
More importantly, though, Bogut's presence has a dramatic impact on the Bucks' defensive efforts.
"In some of our better defensive stretches, Andrew kind of erases mistakes," head coach Scott Skiles said. "It's not just with a blocked shot but just his presence in the painted area. It brings out some of the flaws in our defensive effort when he's not in there."
Drew Gooden started in Bogut's place Friday night and scored eight points on 4-for-9 shooting with three rebounds and two assists in 23 minutes of work.
The Bucks are hoping Bogut will be ready to go Monday afternoon, when they face the 76ers in Philadelphia.
"I know he'll be ready for Philly," Jennings said. "It's a game we need to win."
