Sydney Kings star Andrew Bogut is battling back tightness heading into a tough NBL match double but coach Andrew Gaze is prepared to play him below peak fitness.
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With games at home to lIlawarra Hawks on Friday and away to defending champions Melbourne United on Monday, Bogut sat out practice on Tuesday and couldn't guarantee he would practice at all this week.
He traced the back issue to the round two win over the New Zealand Breakers, when he said he got blindsided.
"I don't think its anything of the ordinary. It's just going to take a little while to get better," Bogut said.
"It's hard to get better when you've got games and practices."
The former NBA veteran admitted he was in doubt before playing in last Sunday's overtime win over Cairns, which took the Kings to a 2-2 record.
However, Gaze wasn't overly concerned about the 33-year-old centre's health.
"He has assured me and all of us that he knows how to deal with it. He can manage it and it's not going to be an on-going problem," Gaze said.
Asked if Bogut may need to be rested from games, Gaze said "I hope not.
'We don't want to get to that stage, we need him out there and 10 per cent of something is better than 100 per cent of nothing.
"So if he's out there and he can give us something, then we want him out there.
Melburnian Bogut will play his first NBL game in his home city next Monday, but Gaze didn't anticipate a hostile reception for a player who at one time was linked to United.
"Everyone is competing for players and we were the fortunate ones to pick him up," Gaze said.
"I don't envisage any sort of animosity from the fans other than what happens on the floor."
Fresh off playing against Taipans giant Nate Jawai, Bogut was looking forward to matching up on another former NBA centre in Hawks' big man and good friend David Andersen, an Olympic teammate in 2004 and 2016.
"He shoots the ball very, very well from three (point range), he's a very smart player and he's won championships all over Europe throughout his career," Bogut said.
"We always have some good battles but it will definitely be a unique challenge with a shooting big."
Bogut wasn't fussed he could become the first NBL player to notch at least three blocks in the first five games of a season and together with Gaze stressed Sydney had plenty of work to do, especially in defence.
"We've still got a lot of breakdowns and a lot of communication issues," Bogut said.
Australian Associated Press
