1. Does Bogut return by the All-Star break?
Jordan Ramirez
His agent says he could return as early as January, but why the rush? At this point, the Warriors have to think about April, May and if all goes well, June for Bogut. Whatever needs to be done for him to be healthy by then needs to be done. The Warriors’ January schedule is packed (15 games), so even if he’s able to come back in January, it would have to be carefully. Limited minutes, no back-to-back’s and maybe even sitting against lesser opponents. The Warriors will go as far as Bogut can take them, and the priority should be the playoffs. Whether this means no homecourt advantage and a lower seed is still up in the air, but all signs point to that being the likeliest scenario given substantial time missed from the center.
Saam Esfandiari
Yes. All-Star Break is eight weeks away. Dwight Howard recently had this procedure and returned in 3 weeks, the normal recovery time. I don’t expect Bogut to be back in three weeks, especially with Warriors aversion to rushing him, but eight weeks is a long time. My best guestimate i he returns sometime in February on minutes restrictions and no back to backs till the playoffs.
Alex Torres
I think so. Dwight Howard had the same procedure done and he missed 11 games and was out for nearly a month, so I think he will be back by the end of January. The Warriors might even want to think about holding him out until after the All-Star break just to make sure his knee gets as close to a 100 percent as possible.
2. Should the Warriors limit Bogut’s minutes and games played for the rest of the season ala the Spurs?
Jordan Ramirez
Yes, that should be the only way they continue with Bogut until the playoffs come. With this current team’s structure, Bogut is invaluable on both ends of the floor, and as a player with such importance, there’s no need to play him heavy minutes for most regular season games if he doesn’t need to. The Spurs wouldn’t be who they are today, almost in 2015, without the minute restrictions and rest allocations given from Pop. It’s a science, and Pop as mastered it. Given David Lee’s and Bogut’s struggles to stay healthy, I wouldn’t be surprised if Kerr takes another page out of his mentor’s book soon.
Saam Esfandiari
Absolutely. This team can go .500 the rest of the way and finish with 50 wins. This team without Bogut should still finish above .500 for the remainder of the games, so even if Bogut doesn’t return all year, short of a huge injury crisis 54-55 wins will likely be the minimum of where they finish (knock on wood). The West is a bear. There’s no guarantee a higher seed means a more favorable match up. But what does matter is for the Warriors to beat any of the four or five better teams in the West, they’ll need some form of a healthy Bogut. It’s better to keep him limited in the regular season so he is available come playoff time.
Alex Torres
Definitely, while the Warriors would love to protect their spot atop the Western Conference with Andrew Bogut in the line-up, he is much more important in the post-season. A healthy Bogut in April will increase their chances of playing in June, so Steve Kerr must limit his minutes moving forward.
Bogut has had trouble staying healthy as of late, so the Warriors must do whatever it takes to make sure he’s healthy when it matters most. The Spurs have gotten the most out of Tim Duncan, Tony Parker, and Manu Ginobli in the post-season because their minutes were watched closely in the regular season. The same must be done with Bogut.
3. Should the Warriors go out and look to acquire a starting Center? Who would you target?
Jordan Ramirez
This front office values team chemistry maybe more than any team in the league. I don’t believe the Warriors will look to acquire another major center because I don’t believe they necessarily feel the need to yet. If Bogut was out for the season, I can see them making calls immediately, but with Bogut out an estimated month (possibly more), that gives him plenty of time to get healthy enough for what really counts: the playoffs.
If anything, I believe they upgrade internally with some more minutes for Kuz, obviously Festus and maybe look at add someone that knows the franchise (Jermaine O’Neal). Roy Hibbert has been mentioned, but with how well Harrison Barnes is playing (which will most certainly be included in any deal) and David Lee needed with Bogut out (especially offensively) I don’t believe the Warriors should panic and make any major deal immediately.
Saam Esfandiari
If there is someone on the market, sure. But I highly doubt any legitimate starting center is available short of gutting this team on the wings. I guess that’s a possibility but any legitimate center upgrade won’t be available. If I was the Warriors, I would monitor how the Ezeli, Speights platoon looks once Lee comes. Lee will surely see some small ball minutes at Center. That 3-man combo should be sufficient until Bogut returns. Should Ezeli and Speights not prove sufficient to buy time, then yes I’d look to the market. If Bogut’s rehab not go well, then I would be more aggressive in the trade market and certainly look to re-asses the position in the summer.
Alex Torres
I don’t believe so. This team has enough depth to carry the load in the big man’s absence. You can’t replace Andrew Bogut, but with David Lee (IF healthy), Festus Ezeli, and Marreese Speights, the Warriors should still win a lot of games. While it would be nice to add another big man, this could be a perfect opportunity for Ezeli to really gain some confidence and establish himself as the back-up center.