In one of the least-surprising announcements of the season, the Bucks officially announced the end of Andrew Bogut's season today. It was always looking unlikely that the Bucks would risk further injuring Bogut's back this season, but falling out of the playoff race essentially assured it. No point in risking the franchise's most important player on a few meaningless games.
The good news is that Bogut appears well on his way to a full recovery from his lower back stress fracture, and the long-term prognosis suggests the injury shouldn't be something to worry about next season. Charles Gardner caught up with Bogut Friday:
"It's definitely getting better," Bogut said. "As far as where we thought we would be at eight weeks, it's right on par. It's going to be a busy summer. It's probably going to take more rest, and I'll be doing weights and core strength."
Bogut is itching to get started, but he may not be able to do any basketball-related activities until July. That still would provide enough time for him to get ready for the preseason in the fall.
The Bucks were 19-17 with Bogut but just 13-29 without him. However, it should be noted that Michael Redd has also been out since January 24, so much of the Bucks' problems without Bogut are compounded by their simultaneous lack of Redd. Not too disimilarly from Bogut, the Bucks were 17-16 with Redd and 15-30 without him.