Bucks Need Help From Their Bench During Bogut’s Recovery

By J-Bucks | Posted Wednesday, February 1

Looks like the Milwaukee Bucks bet on center Andrew Bogut staying healthy this season didn't pan out. Bogut has been plagued with injuries in the past (and has already missed five games this season,) will be absent for as many as twelve weeks. The bad news came following an ankle injury he suffered at Houston last Wednesday.

Prior to this setback, Bogut was the victim of one of the worst injuries an NBA player has had in years. The Bucks center took a very hard fall to the floor after being clipped on a dunk by Amare Stoudemire. He was sent to the hospital with a broken hand and a dislocated elbow. Two surgeries later, the center was back on the court, but the season was already lost.

Doctors have given the native Australian an eight-to-twelve week timetable for recovery. With a quick rebound, it would give him about a month of regular season play. If he should need the full twelve weeks, he might not see anymore playing time this season.

Who Will Replace Bogut?

That grim prospect puts head coach Scott Skiles in quite the personnel bind. Drew Gooden took Bogut's place on Friday in Chicago, as he had in the past games. Putting Gooden in as center can't be a permanent position for the Bucks. He is going to be needed elsewhere on the court as the team heads into the race for the postseason. Ersan Ilyasova, Jon Leuer, Jon Brockman, and Larry Sanders have also been considered as possible replacements.

Skiles emphasized to reporters that it would take a team effort to make up for the loss of Bogut. Conceivably, a lot of that pressure is going to fall onto point guard Brandon Jennings. Jennings has been a huge factor in the Buck’s most recent success on the court. The team has been playing .500 basketball in the past ten games. If the season were to end today, they would be the eighth seed in the playoffs.