It was the Bucks’ home opener, and every time Andrew Bogut fell down, it’s a wonder he didn’t get lightheaded.
Not from hitting his noggin, but from a lack of oxygen. Because 16,000 fans inhaled en masse and sucked up every air molecule in the joint.
It was almost Pavlovian. Bogut hit the floor, people hit the panic button, and they didn’t stop until he stood up. Even then, there was the speculation. How’s the hand? Is he holding his elbow? Was that a grimace? (No, but this is.)
“Scary every time,” said the courtside fan to my right.” And he wasn’t the only one.
“I’m gonna tell him,” threatened Brandon Jennings, “every time he falls, just give me $100.”
Smart businessman, that Jennings. And just when will his no-fall-zone expire?
“Never. That injury that he had was really nasty,” Jennings said. “You never like to see a big man fall, so hopefully, he can stay off the ground.”
He won’t, of course. Basketball, contrary to James Naismith’s best intentions, is very much a contact sport. Bogut will most definitely get contacted, and he will most definitely fall, and it’s up to Jennings and Bucks fans to either close their eyes a lot or simply get used to it.
But nobody’s quite used to it yet.
“It’s gonna take some time,” admits Drew Gooden, Bogut’s new teammate. “It’s not even just when he falls down. It’s when he goes and gets fouled.”
Great. Something else for Bucks fans to worry about. At least Drew isn’t charging cash for Bogut’s free throws.
But people are right to be worried, because where is this team without Bogut? He may not have shoe commercials like Jennings or be a free-throw machine like Corey Maggette or have the ability to carve up defenses like John Salmons. But Bogut is the heart, soul and leader of this team. It’s taken a few years, as well as with the phasing out of Michael Redd, but Bogut has become what No. 1 draft picks should be – the face of your franchise, the core of your club. Lose him again for an extended time, and you pretty much lose the season.
And this is supposed to be a seminal season for the Bucks. After righting the ship last season, they have something that hasn’t been around for a while. Expectations. It’s what Bucks fans have been patiently awaiting, what they’ve been long hoping for, and one gruesome fall reminded them how fragile those hopes can be.
So how can Bucks fans not hold their breath whenever Bogut leaves his feet to dunk? How can they not be nervous whenever he holds out an arm to brace for a fall? And just how long do they have to feel that way?
“That’s up to them,” says Bogut, who has more to fear than anyone, yet sounds like the least-concerned soul in the world. “I’ve taken my hits and blows throughout training camp, and I’m not even worried or thinking about it. That’s gonna be the question over the next couple of weeks. Whenever I dunk – ‘Wow, you dunked it and you didn’t fall’– that’s just the way it is.”
And in case you’re wondering, he’s not worried about that dunking stuff, either. He threw down a two-handed stuff late in the first quarter Saturday, prompting us media types to ask the requisite questions about flashbacks, and he took it all in stride.
“I have no problem going up and trying to dunk,” Bogut said, and then he turned a little philosophical.
“I doubt it will happen again in my career, touch wood. But if it does, it’s a power sport. It’s a freakish thing. What happened to me, you don’t see very often. I haven’t seen footage like that since I’ve been watching the NBA. They say it might be one in a million, and I was that lucky one in a million.”
So at least the big man can joke about it. Can anyone else?
Don’t hold your breath.
Nutshells
– After two big Green Bay wins over the Vikings and the Jets, and a quick check of the NFL standings, one thing is sure: The Packers pretty much need a second-half implosion to miss out on the playoffs. And judging by the Childress/Favre/Moss circus up north, the Vikings have cornered the market on implosions.
– Guys named Randy the Packers should sign before even thinking about Moss: Randy Newman, Randy Quaid and Randy “Macho Man” Savage. But please, no mas on Moss. He’s pure poison.
– I’ll admit it. The possibilities of a Bobby Valentine Brewers administration have me intrigued. And not just because I want to see Valentine Disguise Night at Miller Park. He’d be a wholly different direction for this club, and maybe it’s high time for different.
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