Chris Humphreys – USA Today Sports Images
The Golden State Warriors were able to upset the Denver Nuggets in the first round of the NBA Playoffs with their 92-88 win in game six. Many people thought the Nuggets, one of the more dominant teams in the regular season, would be able to roll over the inconsistent Warriors in this series, but Golden State got hot and showed remarkable resiliency to grab the series victory and advance.
When people look back on this series, they are likely going to remember it as Stephen Curry’s coming out party. That’s justifiable because Curry was fantastic, though he has been that way all season if people had really been paying attention. However, a key part of this season that will probably be overlooked or forgotten is the impact that Warriors center Andrew Bogut had on the series.
Despite battling through a sore back that he was receiving pain-killing shots for, Bogut was absolutely a dominant force against Denver. He averaged just 8.2 points, 10.3 rebounds and 2.3 blocks per game in 27.7 minutes per game and on 63.2 percent shooting, but his stats don’t encapsulate how important he was to Golden State in the series.
Denver derived the majority of their success this season by getting to the rim relentlessly and rebounding incredibly well. They just constantly were active in the paint. Bogut, however, was able to disrupt that by changing and blocking shots at the rim and staying active on the defensive glass. Many times this threw the Nuggets completely out of whack.
It felt fitting that Bogut had his best game of the series in game six when the Warriors clinched the series. He finished the game with 14 points, 21 rebounds and four blocks on 7-10 shooting. He did all of the things he needed to do to allow the Warriors be successful in the game and the series. Now he will have to be up to the task of matching up with Tim Duncan. If he plays like he did against Denver, though, it should be a fun matchup to watch.
Cody Williams is a Senior NBA Writer with Rant Sports. Follow Cody on Twitter @TheSizzle20 and like his Facebook page.
