Andrew Bogut, who was just signed by the Cleveland Cavaliers suffered a terrible injury only a minute into his debut with the team. He suffered a fractured tibia in Monday night's game against the heat. Bogut was closing on Okaro White when their legs collided and both were down on the ground. Bogut sustained the harder end of the blow and had to be helped of the court. This is tough blow to the Cavs as Bogut was brought in for a defensive presence in the paint. As of now, there is no timetable for his return.
LeBron on the injury
The injury to the newly signed Bogut was tough for the Cavs.
LeBron James saw everything first hand, and by his words it wasn't a pleasant sight. "As soon as the collision happened, I heard it break," James said. "And when I went over to him and he said [it was broken], I already knew it. I heard it crack." (ESPN) With much anticipation behind Bogut's debut, seeing the big man fall to the ground injured deflated not only the Cavs players, but the Cavs fans in the arena. "It took the air out of the whole building." James said. (ESPN)
LeBron knows that Bogut was the piece they needed, already signing guard Deron Williams, and acquiring Kyle Korver in a deal with the Atlanta Hawks. All of their holes in their roster were going to be filled but with Bogut's injury they must now wait until he is at full strength in order to be back at full power."It's very deflating ...
a tough moment," LeBron James said. "We all were excited about the acquisition and bringing him in here. We can hope for the best ... but it's a tough one not only for him, first of all, but for our ballclub."
Waiting game
With the new injury affecting the Cavs roster, they can't wait to get to the playoffs. J.R Smith is due back in about a week, Kevin Love is due back just in time for the playoffs.
The Cavs haven't been at full strength since January, and they won't be there until April. The Cavs will need to do their best to get through this next month injury free. They can't afford to lose anymore key players to injury, affecting their chances of getting to another finals appearance. James is logging a ton of minutes, and Kyrie has a history of injuries, so they need to play this carefully.
The Cavs are trying to hold on to the top seed in the East, even when their team is banged up with injuries. This new injury to Bogut doesn't help at all, but with a all-time great like LeBron on your team, you always have a chance to win. With only 20 games left in the regular season, the Cavs will need to will their way to the end where they will get some key pieces back from injury.
