Golden State C Andrew Bogut’s ailing left shoulder has kept the Australian out of the lineup for the last 3 games, a situation Warriors head coach Mark Jackson addressed (clumsily) yesterday (as quoted by the San Francisco Chronicle’s Rusty Simmons) :
“As far as I know, it wasn’t on the court,” Jackson said before the Warriors faced Philadelphia. “It wasn’t in practice. It wasn’t in a game. I’m not really sure. It may have been sleeping, and I say that in all seriousness.”
That remark didn’t sit well with Bogut.
“I just wanted to address that the sleeping comment is absolutely ridiculous,” Bogut said. “I don’t know where it came from. I don’t know if I should read between the lines with it. The frustrating thing is: I don’t know when I hurt it against Utah (on Jan. 31). I just know after that game, it was a little sore. It hasn’t gotten better.”
“I don’t know where (the sleeping comment) came from or if he heard that from the trainer or from somebody, but it’s definitely not the case,” Bogut said. “It’s not like I just woke up after sleeping on my shoulder wrong. I have a bone bruise and swelling in my shoulder. That coming from sleeping is very highly unlikely, I believe.”
After the Warriors’ blowout win, Jackson clarified his remarks, and by “clarified”, I mean he suggested someone else was trying to stir shit up.
You can make it seem like I said something against Bogut. That he slept and got hurt. I understand how you can take that and think, “Coach just took a shot at him.” I said he legitimately was hurt. I expressed how it happened. So please put the whole thing in there, and not half the story. I was part of the media. I understand how you can make it much more appealing, and go for the home run. But in three years, in the 23-win season, I didn’t throw anybody under the bus. And you can wait and wait and wait, and it won’t happen here until somebody else is sitting here. That’s not my M.O. And contrary to the choir, it won’t be my M.O. I believe in every one of my guys and I’m proud of what we’ve been able to do. And I’ll go down being me. I can’t be anybody else.