For Bucks fans watching Milwaukee’s victory over Houston on Wednesday night, it was all too familiar — seeing Andrew Bogut land on Kyle Lowry’s foot and suffer what appeared to be a severely sprained ankle.
The die-hards waiting for the results of Bogut’s MRI on Thursday — battle-hardened students of Bucks history — probably weren’t surprised when the test turned up something usually better left to the X-rays that were clean the night before: a small fracture.
After all, the improbable is merely routine when it comes to Bogut and injuries. Already this season, he’s been away from the team to attend to a personal matter and because he failed a concussion test after a hard fall. The Bucks are 0-5 in those games and 7-5 with Bogut in the lineup, so it’s fair for Milwaukee fans to wonder how things might be different with their center on the floor full-time — especially after a nasty elbow injury kept him out of the playoffs two seasons ago and limited him (and the Bucks) all last year.
The "games missed" total for the 2005 No. 1 overall pick is at 81 over the past three-plus seasons and is about to get “indefinitely” larger, but one thing that isn’t fair is calling Bogut injury-prone.
"Most of my injuries have been impact injuries,” Bogut said when addressing that label prior to the season. “That comes down to things like diving for loose balls, setting hard screens ... I've been hit in the shin and tore a membrane in my shin. I can't control that. You look at guys who people call injury-prone. Look at Gerald Wallace, he's had his injuries. But he's all over the floor. When you play hard, you're going to get hurt sometimes. That's just the way it goes."
Yes, injuries have been a part of Bogut’s career. There’s no escaping that. But to call Bogut injury-prone suggests that he’s not doing everything he can in terms of preparation and conditioning, and that’s not the case.
First things first: Bogut is a tall, tall guy. You don’t get to be a 7-footer without a massive growth spurt. And anyone who has gone through such a spurt can attest that while the bones grow quickly, the muscles, ligaments and tendons don’t always catch up.
Then there are the migraines. If you’ve never had one, you simply cannot understand just how debilitating and crippling such a headache can be.
As for the other serious ailments, well, elbows aren’t designed to drop 10 feet from the rim straight onto a hardwood floor, which is what kept Bogut on the sideline for that rare Bucks playoff appearance two years ago.
"I can't change the fact that I came down off the rim and broke my arm," Bogut said before his run of bad luck this season. "If you call that injury-prone, you're absolutely stupid. That's a freak accident, and recovering from that has been a two-year process. If it was a soft-tissue injury where I shot a jump shot and I tore my triceps, I'm definitely injury-prone. But I haven't missed a whole lot of games for things like a pulled hamstring.”
Bogut played through the pain last season. It was brutally apparent to anyone familiar with his skill level that he was never at full strength. It was no secret to opponents, either. Scouting reports were clear: Bogut’s right side was all but useless. It showed in his game. It showed in his shot. It showed everywhere. Yet, he played 66 games and still managed to lead the league in blocks per game.
The Bucks shut down Bogut late in the season, and he underwent surgery to remove a bone chunk from his elbow. That piece of bone often pressed up against a nerve, leaving his arm numb. The extended offseason, thanks to the lockout, gave him plenty of time to get back into shape. He reported to camp feeling better than he had in years and was looking forward to getting back on track as one of the best centers in the league.
But then bad luck and horrible timing conspired against Bogut and the Bucks again.
It’s doubtful any further MRIs will show coach Scott Skiles how to patch the hole left by Bogut’s impending absence. In the five games Bogut has missed this season, Drew Gooden has gotten the nod at center, but at 6-foot-10, he’s undersized for the role full time. Jon Leuer, also 6-foot-10 but built like a small forward, could play some center, with forwards Ersan Ilyasova and Larry Sanders getting a shot, as well.
But all of those players together don’t add up to what Bogut means to the Bucks. As those 81 games missed hit 82 and more, there simply is no replacement for a skilled 7-footer — injury-prone or otherwise.
