NBA Finals Preview: Center

The NBA Finals 2015 tip off on Thursday night, with Game 1 between the Golden State Warriors and Cleveland Cavaliers taking place at the Oracle Arena.

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While Stephen Curry and LeBron James will naturally get the bulk of the media coverage in the build-up to the season finale, there are several other key match-ups across the two teams that will play a pivotal role in who prevails. That couldn’t apply more so to Andrew Bogut‘s duel with Timofey Mozgov, and if the towering Australian plays at his highest level, he can exploit this weakness and use it to Golden State’s advantage.

In 14 playoff games this year, the Russian center is averaging 9.1 points and 7.2 rebounds per game, and in the two games he has faced the Warriors he added 9.5 points and grabbed 9.0 rebounds on average. Those are impressive numbers for a man brought in by the Cavs mid-season from the Denver Nuggets, and his frame and size will certainly cause problems for the Warriors in the paint.

Bogut doesn’t stack up well against him in terms of numbers, with the 30-year-old averaging 5.3 points and 8.6 rebounds in 15 post-season games this year. However, this is a new series and a new battle that needs to be won. As well as causing Mozgov headaches and denying him the opportunity to attack the glass and finish at the basket, Bogut’s overall presence will be key to Steve Kerr.

He has proven that when healthy he is an integral part of this team, as in addition to his obvious qualities which also include his assist-making ability and shot blocking, his general presence in the paint will cause problems for Cleveland’s guards and forwards looking to attack. Bogut’s overall game is more polished than that of Mozgov’s, and if he can get it right and sustain it over the course of the series, he will give his team a huge advantage in the match-up.

As with every player, much will depend on who steps up and delivers for their team. The playoffs bring the best out of certain players, and it will be up to the Australian to protect the rim, prevent Mozgov from being a factor and then exploiting him on the other end.

Mozgov hasn’t entirely convinced on the defensive end, but Tristan Thompson will be another factor in this series and he will look to win the battle inside in each respective game regardless of which unit he comes up against. Nevertheless, Bogut will need to produce in this series and that includes being a rock at the heart of the defence and then making the most of his opportunities and touches of the ball on offense which will likely be more frequent if Mozgov decides not to continuously follow him as the Warriors space the floor.

If he can do that, then Golden State will have another big reason to believe that they can see off the Cavaliers and win their first championship since 1975.

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