Google Groups no longer supports new Usenet posts or subscriptions. Historical content remains viewable.
Dismiss
Kawakami: Andrew Bogut exit interview: “It was hell for me for 4 months and the last 3 weeks–until yesterday–were great”
4 views
Skip to first unread message
Allen
May 19, 2013, 11:05:48 AM5/19/13
to
Talking Points
with Tim Kawakami
Andrew Bogut exit interview: �It was hell for me for 4 months and the
last 3 weeks�until yesterday�were great�
Posted by Tim Kawakami on May 17th, 2013 at 3:59 pm
http://blogs.mercurynews.com/kawakami/2013/05/17/andrew-bogut-exit-interview-it-was-hell-for-me-for-4-months-and-the-last-3-weeks-until-yesterday-were-great/#more-18425
Here�s Andrew Bogut� (Stephen Curry transcript to come and that�s it.)
�-ANDREW BOGUT partial gaggle transcript/
-Q: When Lee went out, you often had smaller guys alongside you on the
front line�Barnes or Green. Did you have different responsibilities?
-BOGUT: A little bit. Obviously had to rebound the ball at a higher
level with David gone. We lost 10 rebounds a game. So that was a focus
of mine going into the Denver series, not to lose the rebound battle
against the Nuggets, and for the most we did that.
And I think HB obviously was probably the one benefactor of DLee�s
absence, because ended up getting more minutes and playing very well. He
had a very good playoffs.
-Q: What was this season like for you?
-BOGUT: I think it was hell for me for four months and the last three
weeks until yesterday were great. It was a roller coaster ride for me
personally, a real struggle with the ankle and with the pressure and
trying to come back and play through injury, and fulfill expectations.
But I gave it my best. I left it out on the floor. And we obviously beat
a team we weren�t supposed to beat in the first round and pushed a team
in the second round and had a chance to win that series. I think that�s
a positive way to end the season.
-Q: Did you have any more injections other than the one you had during
the Denver series?
-BOGUT: No, I mean, I was so jacked up on anti-inflammatories I couldn�t
have an injection yesterday even if I wanted to. Because you don�t want
to over-dose on anti-flams.
-Q: So you were taking pills?
-BOGUT: Essentially, yeah.
You can�t double up, you�d probably lose a kidney or two if you did that.
-Q: How do you think the process of managing your injury went?
-BOGUT: Probably rushed back a little bit. I don�t think I was ready
when I came back for the first game, but I wanted to play. I wanted to
give it a shot. I was doing all the drills in practice and it felt OK. I
felt I could play an NBA basketball game.
But it didn�t respond well. And that�s why I had to take two, three
months off to get it right�. I managed it every day. Every day was a
battle basically after April� Just get it right just enough to get back
on the court. My whole playoff campaign was that.
Once we started going every other day against the Spurs it just got
worse. But tried to do everything I could off the court to be a positive
impact on the court and some days it worked, some days it didn�t.
-Q: Any reason you wouldn�t be 100% to start next season?
-BOGUT: Not unless I get hit by a car or something, I don�t think so.
I�m excited to get to this off-season and get this ankle right, first
and foremost. Rest is most important right now and physio and rehab and
get this swelling out. Anticipate that three or four months should do a
world of wonders.
-Q: Any sense of relief that the season�s over?
-BOGUT: In a way, yeah. You don�t want to come out and say you�re
relieved losing a game. But at the same time the mental and physical
pain I felt the last two or three weeks was getting worse and worse. And
for the season to end wasn�t a terrible thing.
But the way it ended was disappointing, losing at home, probably losing
a series that we probably could�ve been easily 3-1 after losing the
first game in San Antonio that we should�ve won.
My next motivation now as an athlete is to get to the off-season, rehab
properly, get the ankle right and come back with no excuses.
-Q: Where does this team have to improve?
-BOGUT: I think our execution needs to get better. That�s something we
need to address.
I still believe the Spurs are the pinnacle of execution. I think if we
executed half as well as them, we�d probably have beat them. No
disrespect to them, but we came very close to beating them. They just
have a great kind of team that just knows it�s spots, they�ve played
together so long.
We�ve only been together a year, so I think with more experience, some
tweaks execution-wise, coming out of timeouts and probably being a
little more switched on in games� We�re a young team so sometimes we
make mistakes coming out of timeouts, like the Denver game, Game 1 of
the Spurs. They�re probably more mental errors than physical.
-Q: With what you did while hobbling this season, are you more confident
about what you could do in the future for this team?
-BOGUT: Yeah, I think I am. I think first and foremost getting my body
right in the off-season. But I think playing on one wheel pretty much
the whole season and still battling, especially defensively and
rebounding and blocking shots�
My offense was a real struggle for me�that�s probably the most
frustrating part of my season. My offense just wasn�t there, had no lift
on my shots, free throws were a nightmare as well. It all kind of was a
spiral effect downhill offensively.
I knew I had to step up my defense and rebounding to have an effect on
the game. That�s something I�m going to look to rectify in the
off-season and come back bigger and better.
-Q: Can you be the center that takes this team to the next level?
-BOGUT: I think so, yeah. I think with the weapons that we have, I think
I�m that one piece that needs to play well for us to be successful. I
think it showed in the playoffs�when I played well, had good games, we
were winning a lot of those games.
-Q: Was there any explanation for why the ankle kept barking at you so
much? Any structural damage?
-BOGUT: No, there�s no structural� it�s just the recurring effects of
that surgery. Only 12 months out, still, and I probably rushed back,
which probably set me back an extra month or two.
You know, 265 pounds and 7-foot, so I think putting that on an ankle is
probably different than Steph or someone who�s smaller and doesn�t weigh
as much.
I tweaked it a couple times in the Spurs series. And the issue I had is
when I tweak it some scar tissue would break off, which is perfectly
normal. It feels like a tear, but it�s scar tissue and the problem is it
swells up immediately and that locks up my whole joint and then that�s
when I have the issue with running and moving around.
And I had that issue in Game 5, the first five minutes, and I just
couldn�t get it right in time. We played every other day in this series
and there just was no time to get that swelling out.
-Q: You twisted it in Game 5?
-BOGUT: I stepped on a foot, yeah. Early in Game 5.
-Q: How important is it that Jack and Landry come back?
-BOGUT: Well, obviously in an ideal world it�s very important. But being
a realist, you probably can�t keep both of them. That�s� I don�t think
we�ll have room on our cap to keep both, even though we�d like to.
We wish them the best. Obviously we want them both back, but at the same
time it�s a tough place for management, because you�re going to have to
pick one or the other, in my opinion.
I just think they�re both going to demand some pretty good money in this
league.
with Tim Kawakami
Andrew Bogut exit interview: �It was hell for me for 4 months and the
last 3 weeks�until yesterday�were great�
Posted by Tim Kawakami on May 17th, 2013 at 3:59 pm
http://blogs.mercurynews.com/kawakami/2013/05/17/andrew-bogut-exit-interview-it-was-hell-for-me-for-4-months-and-the-last-3-weeks-until-yesterday-were-great/#more-18425
Here�s Andrew Bogut� (Stephen Curry transcript to come and that�s it.)
�-ANDREW BOGUT partial gaggle transcript/
-Q: When Lee went out, you often had smaller guys alongside you on the
front line�Barnes or Green. Did you have different responsibilities?
-BOGUT: A little bit. Obviously had to rebound the ball at a higher
level with David gone. We lost 10 rebounds a game. So that was a focus
of mine going into the Denver series, not to lose the rebound battle
against the Nuggets, and for the most we did that.
And I think HB obviously was probably the one benefactor of DLee�s
absence, because ended up getting more minutes and playing very well. He
had a very good playoffs.
-Q: What was this season like for you?
-BOGUT: I think it was hell for me for four months and the last three
weeks until yesterday were great. It was a roller coaster ride for me
personally, a real struggle with the ankle and with the pressure and
trying to come back and play through injury, and fulfill expectations.
But I gave it my best. I left it out on the floor. And we obviously beat
a team we weren�t supposed to beat in the first round and pushed a team
in the second round and had a chance to win that series. I think that�s
a positive way to end the season.
-Q: Did you have any more injections other than the one you had during
the Denver series?
-BOGUT: No, I mean, I was so jacked up on anti-inflammatories I couldn�t
have an injection yesterday even if I wanted to. Because you don�t want
to over-dose on anti-flams.
-Q: So you were taking pills?
-BOGUT: Essentially, yeah.
You can�t double up, you�d probably lose a kidney or two if you did that.
-Q: How do you think the process of managing your injury went?
-BOGUT: Probably rushed back a little bit. I don�t think I was ready
when I came back for the first game, but I wanted to play. I wanted to
give it a shot. I was doing all the drills in practice and it felt OK. I
felt I could play an NBA basketball game.
But it didn�t respond well. And that�s why I had to take two, three
months off to get it right�. I managed it every day. Every day was a
battle basically after April� Just get it right just enough to get back
on the court. My whole playoff campaign was that.
Once we started going every other day against the Spurs it just got
worse. But tried to do everything I could off the court to be a positive
impact on the court and some days it worked, some days it didn�t.
-Q: Any reason you wouldn�t be 100% to start next season?
-BOGUT: Not unless I get hit by a car or something, I don�t think so.
I�m excited to get to this off-season and get this ankle right, first
and foremost. Rest is most important right now and physio and rehab and
get this swelling out. Anticipate that three or four months should do a
world of wonders.
-Q: Any sense of relief that the season�s over?
-BOGUT: In a way, yeah. You don�t want to come out and say you�re
relieved losing a game. But at the same time the mental and physical
pain I felt the last two or three weeks was getting worse and worse. And
for the season to end wasn�t a terrible thing.
But the way it ended was disappointing, losing at home, probably losing
a series that we probably could�ve been easily 3-1 after losing the
first game in San Antonio that we should�ve won.
My next motivation now as an athlete is to get to the off-season, rehab
properly, get the ankle right and come back with no excuses.
-Q: Where does this team have to improve?
-BOGUT: I think our execution needs to get better. That�s something we
need to address.
I still believe the Spurs are the pinnacle of execution. I think if we
executed half as well as them, we�d probably have beat them. No
disrespect to them, but we came very close to beating them. They just
have a great kind of team that just knows it�s spots, they�ve played
together so long.
We�ve only been together a year, so I think with more experience, some
tweaks execution-wise, coming out of timeouts and probably being a
little more switched on in games� We�re a young team so sometimes we
make mistakes coming out of timeouts, like the Denver game, Game 1 of
the Spurs. They�re probably more mental errors than physical.
-Q: With what you did while hobbling this season, are you more confident
about what you could do in the future for this team?
-BOGUT: Yeah, I think I am. I think first and foremost getting my body
right in the off-season. But I think playing on one wheel pretty much
the whole season and still battling, especially defensively and
rebounding and blocking shots�
My offense was a real struggle for me�that�s probably the most
frustrating part of my season. My offense just wasn�t there, had no lift
on my shots, free throws were a nightmare as well. It all kind of was a
spiral effect downhill offensively.
I knew I had to step up my defense and rebounding to have an effect on
the game. That�s something I�m going to look to rectify in the
off-season and come back bigger and better.
-Q: Can you be the center that takes this team to the next level?
-BOGUT: I think so, yeah. I think with the weapons that we have, I think
I�m that one piece that needs to play well for us to be successful. I
think it showed in the playoffs�when I played well, had good games, we
were winning a lot of those games.
-Q: Was there any explanation for why the ankle kept barking at you so
much? Any structural damage?
-BOGUT: No, there�s no structural� it�s just the recurring effects of
that surgery. Only 12 months out, still, and I probably rushed back,
which probably set me back an extra month or two.
You know, 265 pounds and 7-foot, so I think putting that on an ankle is
probably different than Steph or someone who�s smaller and doesn�t weigh
as much.
I tweaked it a couple times in the Spurs series. And the issue I had is
when I tweak it some scar tissue would break off, which is perfectly
normal. It feels like a tear, but it�s scar tissue and the problem is it
swells up immediately and that locks up my whole joint and then that�s
when I have the issue with running and moving around.
And I had that issue in Game 5, the first five minutes, and I just
couldn�t get it right in time. We played every other day in this series
and there just was no time to get that swelling out.
-Q: You twisted it in Game 5?
-BOGUT: I stepped on a foot, yeah. Early in Game 5.
-Q: How important is it that Jack and Landry come back?
-BOGUT: Well, obviously in an ideal world it�s very important. But being
a realist, you probably can�t keep both of them. That�s� I don�t think
we�ll have room on our cap to keep both, even though we�d like to.
We wish them the best. Obviously we want them both back, but at the same
time it�s a tough place for management, because you�re going to have to
pick one or the other, in my opinion.
I just think they�re both going to demand some pretty good money in this
league.
0 new messages