Based on the reports that are now filing in, it looks like the Golden State Warriors might not be missing centers Andrew Bogut and Festus Ezeli all that much longer. Bogut has missed the last two games due to a foot and toe injury, and Ezeli has missed the last six weeks due to arthroscopic knee surgery.
It appears that both big men will be back sometime in the foreseeable future, and that means only good things for a Warriors squad that is forced to play center Anderson Varejao while the two of them try to lick their wounds. Bogut and Ezeli, quite obviously, are far better players than what has been replacing them.
From Ron Kroichick, columnist for the San Francisco Chronicle:
“We don’t think it’s going to be too long,” [head coach Steve] Kerr said. “We’ve been without Bogut before. You just adapt. Every team adapts according to their own personnel. For us right now, without Bogut and Ezeli, it means we have to play a little smaller, and that means we’re vulnerable on the glass. It’s the way it goes.”
That vulnerability on the glass could be what has led to the team seemingly wearing out down the stretch here. The team does look tired, and that lack of size inside could be a major reason as to why. It means more minutes against bigger opponents for players who might not necessarily need to play against the big boys that often.
When Bogut and Ezeli come back, the Warriors are going to be even far more dangerous than they are right now. That’s a day that fans, and head coach Steve Kerr, cannot wait for. It does sound like both players will be back sometime soon, though, so feel free to breath a sigh of relief for now.