Photo: Noah Graham/NBA/Getty Images
It has become a broken record when covering the Golden State Warriors. Since their two-game losing streak in early November, this team has had either a productive or perfect week. This wasn’t any different for Andrew Bogut and company. It started with another convincing win over the Houston Rockets. This was supposed to be one of the better rivalries, as Bogut has spoken openly about going against Dwight Howard. Despite that matchup, the games haven’t been very competitive this season. This wasn’t anything different in a 126-113 win for Golden State.
Andrew Bogut outplays Dwight Howard
Bogut had one of his best games of the season with nine points, ten rebounds, and five blocks in just 22 minutes. Howard was mostly a non-factor dealing with foul trouble and limited to just three of eight shooting. In the battle of two veterans, Andrew drew him into a couple of silly fouls and blocked two consecutive shots down low. Howard was rattled, while Bogut couldn’t have looked more confident. From finishing off ally oops to playing “point center” on one occasion in finding Klay Thompson for a layup, it was another season defining game for the resurgent center. After years of Howard getting the better of Bogut, the changing of the guard slightly changed after this affair.
It was another memorable game on Friday against Sacramento. Bogut took a backseat for the absurd shooting clinic from Thompson. In the third quarter, a 37-point performance that included Thompson making all thirteen of his shots occurred. An NBA record was broken in the 126-101 win for Golden State. Bogut had eight points, five rebounds, and two blocks in 24 minutes of action. DeMarcus Cousins did get the better of him at times, although that was to be expected. It was still another convincing victory for the Warriors on their home court. All the attention was on Thompson, who rightfully deserved it.
Golden State almost let a 12-point lead slip away at home against Boston on Sunday. They held on for a 114-111 win from Klay Thompson’s 31 points. Many players tend to decline after signing a massive contract. Thompson has done the complete opposite in taking his game to another level. Bogut had his first double-double since November 16th against the Lakers. Andrew contributed with thirteen points and thirteen rebounds in 28 minutes. Boston’s lack of size was costly against Bogut inside the paint. Stephen Curry connected on several assists with Bogut, including a beautiful ally-oop. Not every win is going to be convincing, especially against teams with nothing to lose like Boston. All that matters for Golden State is to stay on the winning track to earn home-court advantage. They moved to 21-1 at home from this victory. Bogut missed Tuesday’s loss against Chicago with flu-like symptoms.
Curry to Bogut
This will be a reasonably comfortable week for the Warriors. They head to Utah on Friday, where Bogut could take on his fellow Australians in Dante Exum and Joe Ingles. This latest setback shouldn’t keep him out for too long. A quick trip back at home to play the Phoenix Suns on Saturday will commence. The week ends in an away game against Sacramento on Tuesday. None of these games give an indication that Golden State should lose again. It has been a remarkable year for them.
Photo: Kim Klement/USA Today
Damjan Rudez continues to play a meaningful role for the Indiana Pacers. Although the team continues to struggle, Rudez has continued to defy the odds by being active off the bench. In a 110-91 loss to the outstanding Atlanta Hawks last Wednesday, Rudez scored eight points on three of seven shooting. Damjan also contributed with three rebounds and two assists in 20 minutes of action. Although Atlanta was the far superior team, Rudez didn’t back down and stayed aggressive throughout the game. Frank Vogel has decided to give him more minutes over Chris Copeland. That wasn’t the case in the early portion of the season.
The struggles continued for Indiana in a tough 89-87 loss in Miami on Friday. Rudez missed all four of his three-point attempts in 20 minutes of action. Miami has stepped up their defensive intensity following a slow start to the season. It was still disappointing to see him not take advantage of an undersized Heat team. Damjan was ineffective offensively, although contributed with two steals. Indiana nearly came back from a 17-point deficit to beat their arch rivals. Their losing streak reached seven games following that defeat.
The losing streak ended shortly after against the Orlando Magic. After a mostly forgettable three quarters, Orlando was up by three. Rudez was given an opportunity to shine and ended up having the game of his career. Damjan ended up scoring 16 of a career-high 18 points in the fourth quarter. While Orlando was playing horrid defense by failing to rotate efficiently, Rudez consistently made them pay. If you watch the video, the commentators joked about having to “stop Rudez” at one point. An array of open three-pointers and making Orlando’s late rotating defense pay on multiple occasions was the story for him. In 29 minutes, Rudez shot seven for ten from the field. This included four three-pointers, including one right over Victor Oladipo’s hand to seal the win for a team that desperately needed it.
Rudez becomes Indiana’s go-to guy in the fourth quarter
The brief winning streak ended on Tuesday night against Toronto. Rudez only played 16 minutes and scoring five points from two of five shooting. It was a mostly quiet game for him, as Indiana shot poorly throughout the night. In a 104-91 loss, they only shot 41 percent against a below average Raptors defense. Disappointing offensive performances has become a ritual in Indiana this season. The fans must be savoring the day that Paul George is ready to play again.
Indiana has a short week ahead, which will be greatly appreciated at this time of year. They have a home game against the lowly New York Knicks on Thursday. The week ends at home against Sacramento on Saturday. It should be interesting to see how Rudez continues to evolve following his latest breakout game. If Damjan can find some type of consistency, the talk of him not lasting in the NBA will eventually vanish.
Photo: AP
It was mostly a forgettable week for Bojan Bogdanovic and the Brooklyn Nets. Two straight losses by a combined 74 points on the west coast has brought them to their lowest point of the season. The week started out well for them in a 103-100 win at Sacramento last Wednesday. Bogdanovic struggled by shooting just three of ten for the field and had three turnovers as well. It was positive for him to play 31 minutes and continue to adjust to certain situations. Brook Lopez had 22 points and Joe Johnson hit a few key shots to seal a much-needed road win.
Brooklyn was on the national stage against the Los Angeles Clippers on Thursday. Croatian Sports had also invaded the Staples Center in pursuit to interview Bogdanovic. All of the attention circulating around the game and it ended up as an enormous dud. Los Angeles was up 70-39 at halftime, along with shooting 59 percent from the field. Bogdanovic was scoreless in 13 minutes of action. This game got out of hand quickly, which led to the starters having their night ended early. Bojan was gracious enough to give Croatian Sports a compelling interview from the 123-84 loss.
Somehow the Nets topped their embarrassing performance from Thursday against the below-average Utah Jazz. They found themselves down 58-37 at halftime. Utah out-rebounded Brooklyn 42 to 29 and held them to 38 percent shooting from the field. Bogdanovic had nine points from three of seven shooting in 24 minutes. It was another game, where it was difficult to get into a groove. Utah was firing on all cylinders, which included 13 three-pointers made. For a Lionel Hollins coached team, you wouldn’t expect the defense to be consistently porous in a 108-73 defeat. Brooklyn was fortunate enough to see Monday’s game against Portland postponed, due to a severe blizzard occurring in the northeast.
They have extra time to get physically and mentally prepared to take on the best team in the Eastern conference. Brooklyn will be nationally televised tonight against the Atlanta Hawks on the road. This will prove to be a good litmus test to see how they can bounce back from two consecutive embarrassing performances. A two game home stand against Toronto on Friday and a rematch against the Clippers on Monday will end the week. A full week of playoff teams isn’t something that Net fans want to see at this time. At 18-26, it doesn’t seem like the team will be close to reaching .500 anytime soon. As for Bogdanovic, there have been some improvements over the past month. Nets Daily broke it down very well in this article.
Photo: Steve Mitchell/USA Today
Justin Hamilton continues to ride the bench in Miami. With the continued emergence of Hassan Whiteside, Hamilton is on the outside looking in. The front-court is crowded with Whiteside, Chris Bosh, Udonis Haslem, and Chris Andersen playing extensive minutes. Unless any of those players gets injured, it’s hard to see where Hamilton fits in the rotation. Miami is 21-25, as they continue to hold onto the seventh seed.
Twitter: @Allen_Strk
Bogdanovic clanked a wide open 3-pointer last night which would have won the game in their overtime loss against the Magic.
He’s got to make those shots.
He played 41 minutes, which is extremely generous under Lionel Hollins. No other coach would be giving him this amount of playing time with underwhelming stats.
@ ARMADA 87 I wear a Croatian soccer jersey i have the biggest collection in the Croatian diaspora world wide of Croatian soccer jerseys starting from World Cup 1998. I do listen to Marko Thompson Perkovic i have been to Croatia on several occasions i can speak the language read and write it. I have a Gold Chain and a Hrvatski Grb. Plus i also have a Hrvatski grb prsten legit Hrvat. Even though when i go there they call me Australac Klokan Kengure as we all get called same goes for you Yanks. Mi smo izmedju when we are in Australia were called Croatians over there in Croatia they call us Australci Aussies.
@Armada
Check, check, check, and check!!
I always pass these tests.
IvicA says:
FANSIDED translated your interview with Bogdanović and posted it on their site. Gave you guys your credit. Funny headline though… “Bogdanović wants more minutes”
January 28, 2015 at 12:12 pm
Stole it from NetsDaily.com…and they didn’t even give credit to Netsdaily. The reason i know, is because i translated it for them.
Negative…… any of those name you a diaspora hrvat.
I thought if you either:
-wore a Croatian nogomet jersey
-listened to Machine Gun Thompson
-had a gold chain with a grb
-been to Croatia
it automatically made you a ‘legit’ Hrvat
If he was so proud of it he would learn the language.
BB has said he has visited Croatia a couple of times and has said he is proud of his Croatian heritage korijene respect to “hoodie”. I think Pete Carroll is more removed from it though. The only good thing about the city of Indianapolis is Andrew Luck and the Colts not the Pacers. If only Paul George was playing and George Hill.
@Živa
Belichick isn’t that far removed from Croatia if he’s going out of his way to mention that Nick Saban is Croatian too.
That’s a pretty Croat move right there. They bring up that both coaches in the Super bowl are Croats and he doesn’t let them forget that there were more. That reminds me of how I respond whenever someone brings up a good Croat athlete, and I brush it off by listing out even more in an attempt to show them the depth of our talent.
Plus, he’s been to Croatia and there are also photos with his wife wearing Cro gear. He’s a stoic guy, but you can see that he has that Croat pride.
Tourism is a doubel edged sword. Sure you get people to visit and spend some money with no over investment in infrastructure.
Companies usually build their own hotels and the beaches were built by nature. However, this is our homeland and we don’t want
outside people ruining our culture and traditions.
Oj Kupreško ravno poljce,
Što pozoba crnogorce,
Od tisuću i pedeset,
Vratilo se samo deset,
Od tih deset kraj Prisoja,
Dočekala crna bojna,
A tih deset muku muče,
I po njima šarac tuče.
@Ziva
“Plus, they have another thing in common.”
HA!!
So true.
Can’t stand either of these teams.
Throw in the Cowboys and you’d have my 3 least favourites.
Not a big college sports guy but wasn’t Nick Saban accused of cheating too?
These guys must all be Hercegovci!
Shady winners, all of them!
Son,look at what you have done to raise the profile of the humble basement.Pedophyles all over have been retro fitting them to their homes.Never underestimate.
True son,but anything that raises the profile in a positive way is a good thing.Recognition of the country has risen quite a bit in say the last 5yrs+,that is largely due to being more recognised for tourism.Will more people go there because of some Superbowl coach? I doubt it,but bit by bit it doesnt hurt ,you glass half empty little boob.
Ziva is the Word of Croatia
It is positive, but don’t understand how it is good for the country. Nobody is going to visit cro because some NFL coach has family from Croatia. Just like when cro athletes do well in sports and we hear the apologists suggests it is good for the country in terms of tourism. There is no tangible data to back up such statements.
Do any of us want to visit the Philipines because of Manny Paquia? Same shit.
Any time croatia gets mentioned in positive light, its good for the country. Malo nas je al nas ima.
@Soul Champ
Not sure what Rudez’s potential is, but he’s starting to find a groove within the rotation. If he continues to shoot at a decent percentage from three-point range, then he should have a place in this league. I’d like to see more rebounds from him. Indiana is one of the biggest teams in the league though. I’m intrigued by how well he progresses throughout the season. Many people on the site were joking how he would be out of the league in six months to a year.
Bill Bilićić HEROJ !!!!!
I don’t disagree with you but give him credit for the positive statement on Croatia.
Come on……these guys are so far removed from anything hrvatstvo they don’t even qualify to be labeled as diaspora hrvati.
Plus, they have another thing in common.
http://ftw.usatoday.com/2015/01/bill-belichick-and-pete-carroll-have-one-surprising-thing-in-common
I know Ziva will have something to say but jebiga had to post the above.
I am not a big basketball fan but I love watching Bogut play. The way he shut down Howard on so many plays just priceless. Hopefully he stays healthy and the Warriors do some serious damage post season.
FANSIDED translated your interview with Bogdanović and posted it on their site. Gave you guys your credit. Funny headline though… “Bogdanović wants more minutes”
A few weeks after bashing his inability to play, I’m humbly surprised that Rudez is doing well and getting minutes. Bogut is playing great since his injury and looking for him to keep it up
@ Allen
It takes a LION Heart to come back from multiple career threatening injuries like Bogut has. Big time respect to him.
Love his game and it is no accident that he is a major factor in the best team in the NBA. I pray for his health as come play-off time his role will become crucial. Damn the western conference is a bear.
We can never ever let a beast Hrvat not represent Hrvatska in any sport.
Rudez is playing his game. He will be more dominant at the Euro’s because of this NBA season. Not sure why he bummed it up this past summer?
With his range and size and the ability to drive if you try to jump him, he will carve out a nice role as a stretch 4.
EuroBasket 2015:
Tomic
Rudez
Šarić
Bogdanović
Hezonja
You can play a Syracuse 2-3 match up zone!