For the Golden State Warriors, 30 is a Prime Number
A Closer Look at Bogut
Mandatory Credit: Ezra Shaw-Pool Photo via USA TODAY Sports
The same kind of criticism for Iguodala on offense can be applied to Bogut: he’ll never be expected to put the ball in the basket over and over again, but the difference he makes for the Warriors offensively comes by way of his uncanny ability to find the open man (27.3 assist ratio, ranked second on the team).
But of course, things just wouldn’t be fair if I put Iguodala’s offensive shortcomings on the table without mentioning Bogut’s.
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Thunderous Intentions
Other than the fact that Bogut averaged an abysmal 6.3 points per game during the regular season last year and an even worse 4.7 points per game last postseason, the thing that really stands out about Bogut is that fans could actually make a reasonable argument that he’s THE BEST CENTER IN THE LEAGUE if he had the offensive game of Zaza Pachulia (8.3 PPG, 45.4 FG%) or Kelly Olynyk (10.3 PPG, 47.5 FG%).
Though not a perfect stat, real plus-minus is a stat that’s been slowly more and more integrated into every basketball statistician’s repertoire. In real plus-minus, Bogut posts a 3.16, which is good enough for 7th in the NBA among centers. A closer look, however, reveals that the reason Bogut is so high up on the scale is his defensive RPM of 4.97, which leads all centers and is second in the league behind Draymond Green‘s 5.23.
By comparison, Los Angeles Clippers center DeAndre Jordan — who placed third in Defensive Player of the Year voting last season and was put on the All-Defensive First Team ahead of Bogut — posted the 14th best defensive RPM among centers in the league at 2.43.
On the flip side of that RPM coin, Bogut posted an offensive RPM of -1.81, which ranked 42nd in the league among the 67 centers listed. His offensive RPM is so bad, readers are required to load the second page of ORPM just to see Bogut’s name.
But as this excerpt from Sports Illustrated so accurately illustrates, Bogut — like Iguodala — is just the perfect fit for the Warriors and their core.
"It’s a perfect marriage. Another organization might push Bogut too far, physically, or fail to properly utilize his playmaking ability on offense. As it stands, Bogut is limited enough as a scorer to make him burdensome in particular circumstances. Were a lesser team to suffer those consequences and make less optimal use of Bogut as a passer (he averaged 4.1 assists per 36 minutes with the Warriors), his interior defense might not be as substantial of a net positive. Golden State struck a healthier balance and in doing so, illustrated how valuable Bogut can still be in a league gravitating toward speed and space."
Of course, there are injury concerns. Bogut is well known for suffering one of the most horrific injuries ever witnessed on the NBA hardwood, and since then he’s developed a reputation for being prone to injury.
But when healthy, Bogut’s ability to defend is unmatched. He has great defensive instincts, and he’s still fairly quick enough on his feet to stick with smaller guys. On offense, he may not score a bunch, but he can be counted on to find his teammates rolling off his high screens for the jumper or cutting backdoor for the easy bucket.
There’s only 10 centers in the league that average more than two assists in the game, and only a couple of those guys can hit a backdoor cutter underneath the basket consistently. Golden State is lucky enough to have one of them.
Next: 2016 Predictions for Iguodala, Bogut