The Golden State Warriors are one of the major proponents of small ball in the NBA, but they know they need Andrew Bogut.
The Australian Center is the anchor of the Warriors' interior defense. The Splash brothers of Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson cannot blow opponents' out every night, and they still need Bogut to defend and grab the rebounds to start the break.
Bogut is aware of his importance to the team, and he also relishes the experience of winning an NBA title. This is why, while many players gain weight in the offseason, Bogut did the exact opposite as CSN Bay Area covered.
"On Saturday, as the Warriors concluded camp, Bogut again turned heads.
'He went three-quarters of the court, coast-to-coast, to finish with a floater,' Steph Curry said."
These were unexpected from the 30-year old center who has been injured several time, at one point costing the Warriors a deep playoff run when he went down.
The Australian center lost 22 lbs thanks to a new diet that saw him eliminate sugar, admittedly because of a documentary, "Is Sugar the new Fat?" which he saw on Australian TV last August.
"I changed my diet a little bit," he said. "It's really worked wonders for me.I watched that documentary, It's unbelievable, man. (Sugar) is in absolutely everything. I have a couple friends that are label readers. I used to give them so much (crap), telling them, 'Man, just eat it. Stop reading the label.' And now I'm one of those guys."
That new habit may pay off with a longer career. CBS Sports points out that the Aussie is no longer a spring chicken, and it would be easier for him to run with his teammates carrying a lighter load.
"Besides the health benefits of his weight loss, playing at a lighter weight should put less stress on Bogut's knees and back, two areas of his body that have often been injured," CBS noted. "As Golden State's defensive anchor, Bogut's overall health is quite important for the Warriors and they will need him to remain injury-free if they hope to repeat this season."