The Golden State Warriors know how important Andrew Bogut is to their success this season, and they'll be glad to have him back against the Utah Jazz on Friday.
After Tuesday night's loss to the Chicago Bulls, the Warriors are now 27-2 this season with a healthy Bogut and 9-5 without him. That's still a decent record even with the Australian big man sidelined, but the Warriors have aspirations this year well beyond 'decent'.
Per Rusty Simmons of the San Francisco Chronicle, this absence won't extend past one game. After sitting out Tuesday with the flu, Bogut practiced Thursday and should be good to go on Friday against the Utah Jazz.
Despite a 16-30 record, this year's Jazz shouldn't be written off - they're allowing just 98.4 points per game (good for 4th in the Western Conference), and they've already beaten San Antonio, Oklahoma City, Memphis and Chicago so far this season.
The Warriors have beaten the Jazz in the first two meetings between these teams this year - a 101-88 victory in Oakland in November, and a 116-105 win in Utah earlier in January that saw Stephen Curry lead the way with 27 points and 11 assists.
Bogut is averaging 6.8 points, 8.7 rebounds and 2.0 blocked shots in 24.3 minutes per game so far this season, and the Warriors have won their last 22 consecutive games with him in the lineup.
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