OAKLAND, United States // At the beginning of training camp, Andrew Bogut set a goal to play all 82 regular-season games and regain his place among the NBA’s best centres.
He’s on pace to come awfully close.
With his health no longer holding him back, Bogut has been a force in the middle for the Golden State Warriors (29-19) entering Tuesday night’s home game against the Charlotte Bobcats. He ranks near the top of the league in blocks, rebounds and defensive ratings, and he has begun to silence the chatter that he’s a player who is always hurt.
“I haven’t felt this great in while,” Bogut said after Monday’s practice, then quickly asking not to jinx his good fortune.
“Touch wood,” he said.
The 7-footer (2.13-metre) from Australia, who has a well-documented history of injuries, has played in 47 of 48 games – with his lone absence stemming from a suspension handed down by the NBA for his role in a scrum against Portland. Bogut had played in only 44 games the past two seasons combined.
Bogut’s presence has been especially big considering his primary backups, Jermaine O’Neal and Festus Ezeli, have been out most of the season.
“He’s been spectacular, protecting the paint, setting screens, rebounding the basketball, being a leader, being durable,” Warriors coach Mark Jackson said. “If he’s not here, you’re asking basically a power forward to be a (centre), and to do it for a lengthy period of time is a recipe for disaster. But he’s been awesome, and certainly should be in the discussion for Defensive Player of the Year.”
The Warriors took a big risk by signing Bogut to a three-year, $36 million (Dh132m) extension in October that could be worth up to about $42 million with incentives. They also took a gamble when they acquired Bogut in a trade-deadline deal in March 2012 that sent guard Monta Ellis to Milwaukee.
Bogut did not play for Golden State that season while recovering from a fractured left ankle. Bogut battled back and knee injuries while averaging a career-low 5.8 points to go with 7.7 rebounds last season, but he was at his best in the play-offs, making a major difference on defence to help the Warriors advance to the second round.
Bogut missed the end of the 2009/10 season with the Bucks when he dislocated his right elbow, sprained his right wrist and broke his right hand in a hard fall to the floor. He also missed significant time with an injured lower back in the 2008/09 season.
Bogut has repeatedly called both injuries “freak accidents.”
“People that label me injury-prone, it’s fair enough, I understand it,” Bogut said. “But to say that they’re chronic injuries, those people are idiots. Two injuries that have hurt my career and probably shortened the length of my career and probably a little bit of my playing ability are completely out of my control.”
Even still, the setbacks have taken a toll – physically and mentally. At one point while rehabbing his ankle last season, Bogut said he was in a “dark place” and even considered retirement.
Instead, Golden State’s surprising play-off run – and his big role in it – left him rejuvenated. He lost about 15 pounds this off-season, and the only real injury scare cost him some practice time in January after he strained his right knee.
Bogut is averaging 10.6 rebounds and two blocks per game, and he has the NBA’s third-best defensive rating – which is calculated by how many points are given up per 100 possessions while a player is on the floor.
Offence is still something that has eluded Bogut since his elbow injury, though on a Golden State team stacked with shooters, he’s not asked to score much.
Bogut is averaging 8.2 points, which is sixth on the team, but he leads the Warriors with 64 per cent shooting – with most of his points coming on pick-and-roll dunks or put-back rebounds. He’s also rediscovering his passing ability – once considered among the best for NBA’s centres – lately, including tying his season high with five assists in Friday’s win at Utah.
“He’s talented, man,” point guard Stephen Curry said. “It’s not often you see a big man get the rebound, push in transition, change directions a couple times, read the defence and make behind-the-back passes and one-handed passes for a backdoor cut. That creativity he has, I’ve rarely seen it for a guy his size.”
Bogut, now 29, has concentrated on becoming a more versatile defender. He’s not just guarding centres near the rim, but often going out against power forwards, including holding down All-Star starter Blake Griffin in a win over the Clippers last week.
Bogut believes he’s “close” to playing the best defence of his career, and he’s making a strong case to be on the first or second All-NBA Defensive teams. The only time Bogut could remember playing this well was before his injury in the 2009/10 season, when he finished second behind Orlando’s Dwight Howard in blocks per game but didn’t even get a vote for the defensive teams that season.
“Hopefully, I can make up for that this season,” Bogut said. “But awards are predicated on how the team is, how the success of the team is, so if we go to the play-offs and make some noise, I think all that stuff will take care of itself.”
Company%20profile
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Kanguva
Director: Siva
Stars: Suriya, Bobby Deol, Disha Patani, Yogi Babu, Redin Kingsley
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The bio
Date of Birth: April 25, 1993
Place of Birth: Dubai, UAE
Marital Status: Single
School: Al Sufouh in Jumeirah, Dubai
University: Emirates Airline National Cadet Programme and Hamdan University
Job Title: Pilot, First Officer
Number of hours flying in a Boeing 777: 1,200
Number of flights: Approximately 300
Hobbies: Exercising
Nicest destination: Milan, New Zealand, Seattle for shopping
Least nice destination: Kabul, but someone has to do it. It’s not scary but at least you can tick the box that you’ve been
Favourite place to visit: Dubai, there’s no place like home
If you go
Where to stay: Courtyard by Marriott Titusville Kennedy Space Centre has unparalleled views of the Indian River. Alligators can be spotted from hotel room balconies, as can several rocket launch sites. The hotel also boasts cool space-themed decor.
When to go: Florida is best experienced during the winter months, from November to May, before the humidity kicks in.
How to get there: Emirates currently flies from Dubai to Orlando five times a week.
Citadel: Honey Bunny first episode
Directors: Raj & DK
Stars: Varun Dhawan, Samantha Ruth Prabhu, Kashvi Majmundar, Kay Kay Menon
Rating: 4/5
Disclaimer
Director: Alfonso Cuaron
Stars: Cate Blanchett, Kevin Kline, Lesley Manville
Rating: 4/5
BAD%20BOYS%3A%20RIDE%20OR%20DIE
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Company%20Profile
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Wicked
Director: Jon M Chu
Stars: Cynthia Erivo, Ariana Grande, Jonathan Bailey
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Specs%20
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The five pillars of Islam
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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Brief scoreline:
Manchester United 1
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The five pillars of Islam
Stree
Producer: Maddock Films, Jio Movies
Director: Amar Kaushik
Cast: Rajkummar Rao, Shraddha Kapoor, Pankaj Tripathi, Aparshakti Khurana, Abhishek Banerjee
Rating: 3.5
PROFILE BOX
Company name: Overwrite.ai
Founder: Ayman Alashkar
Started: Established in 2020
Based: Dubai International Financial Centre, Dubai
Sector: PropTech
Initial investment: Self-funded by founder
Funding stage: Seed funding, in talks with angel investors
COMPANY PROFILE
Founders: Alhaan Ahmed, Alyina Ahmed and Maximo Tettamanzi
Total funding: Self funded
THE SPECS
Engine: 6.75-litre twin-turbocharged V12 petrol engine
Power: 420kW
Torque: 780Nm
Transmission: 8-speed automatic
Price: From Dh1,350,000
On sale: Available for preorder now
Company%20Profile
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The specs
Engine: Long-range single or dual motor with 200kW or 400kW battery
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Max touring range: 620km / 590km
Price: From Dh250,000 (estimated)
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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Asia Cup Qualifier
Venue: Kuala Lumpur
Result: Winners play at Asia Cup in Dubai and Abu Dhabi in September
Fixtures:
Wed Aug 29: Malaysia v Hong Kong, Nepal v Oman, UAE v Singapore
Thu Aug 30: UAE v Nepal, Hong Kong v Singapore, Malaysia v Oman
Sat Sep 1: UAE v Hong Kong, Oman v Singapore, Malaysia v Nepal
Sun Sep 2: Hong Kong v Oman, Malaysia v UAE, Nepal v Singapore
Tue Sep 4: Malaysia v Singapore, UAE v Oman, Nepal v Hong Kong
Thu Sep 6: Final
Asia Cup
Venue: Dubai and Abu Dhabi
Schedule: Sep 15-28
Teams: Afghanistan, Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, plus the winner of the Qualifier
Nayanthara: Beyond The Fairy Tale
Starring: Nayanthara, Vignesh Shivan, Radhika Sarathkumar, Nagarjuna Akkineni
Director: Amith Krishnan
Rating: 3.5/5
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Almnssa
Started: August 2020
Founder: Areej Selmi
Based: Gaza
Sectors: Internet, e-commerce
Investments: Grants/private funding
Know your cyber adversaries
Cryptojacking: Compromises a device or network to mine cryptocurrencies without an organisation's knowledge.
Distributed denial-of-service: Floods systems, servers or networks with information, effectively blocking them.
Man-in-the-middle attack: Intercepts two-way communication to obtain information, spy on participants or alter the outcome.
Malware: Installs itself in a network when a user clicks on a compromised link or email attachment.
Phishing: Aims to secure personal information, such as passwords and credit card numbers.
Ransomware: Encrypts user data, denying access and demands a payment to decrypt it.
Spyware: Collects information without the user's knowledge, which is then passed on to bad actors.
Trojans: Create a backdoor into systems, which becomes a point of entry for an attack.
Viruses: Infect applications in a system and replicate themselves as they go, just like their biological counterparts.
Worms: Send copies of themselves to other users or contacts. They don't attack the system, but they overload it.
Zero-day exploit: Exploits a vulnerability in software before a fix is found.
Notable Yas events in 2017/18
October 13-14 KartZone (complimentary trials)
December 14-16 The Gulf 12 Hours Endurance race
March 5 Yas Marina Circuit Karting Enduro event
March 8-9 UAE Rotax Max Challenge
How to protect yourself when air quality drops
Install an air filter in your home.
Close your windows and turn on the AC.
Shower or bath after being outside.
Wear a face mask.
Stay indoors when conditions are particularly poor.
If driving, turn your engine off when stationary.
Business Insights
- As per the document, there are six filing options, including choosing to report on a realisation basis and transitional rules for pre-tax period gains or losses.
- SMEs with revenue below Dh3 million per annum can opt for transitional relief until 2026, treating them as having no taxable income.
- Larger entities have specific provisions for asset and liability movements, business restructuring, and handling foreign permanent establishments.
The UN General Assembly President in quotes:
YEMEN: “The developments we have seen are promising. We really hope that the parties are going to respect the agreed ceasefire. I think that the sense of really having the political will to have a peace process is vital. There is a little bit of hope and the role that the UN has played is very important.”
PALESTINE: “There is no easy fix. We need to find the political will and comply with the resolutions that we have agreed upon.”
OMAN: “It is a very important country in our system. They have a very important role to play in terms of the balance and peace process of that particular part of the world, in that their position is neutral. That is why it is very important to have a dialogue with the Omani authorities.”
REFORM OF THE SECURITY COUNCIL: “This is complicated and it requires time. It is dependent on the effort that members want to put into the process. It is a process that has been going on for 25 years. That process is slow but the issue is huge. I really hope we will see some progress during my tenure.”
Business Insights
- Canada and Mexico are significant energy suppliers to the US, providing the majority of oil and natural gas imports
- The introduction of tariffs could hinder the US's clean energy initiatives by raising input costs for materials like nickel
- US domestic suppliers might benefit from higher prices, but overall oil consumption is expected to decrease due to elevated costs
THE LOWDOWN
Photograph
Rating: 4/5
Produced by: Poetic License Motion Pictures; RSVP Movies
Director: Ritesh Batra
Cast: Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Sanya Malhotra, Farrukh Jaffar, Deepak Chauhan, Vijay Raaz
Electoral College Victory
Trump has so far secured 295 Electoral College votes, according to the Associated Press, exceeding the 270 needed to win. Only Nevada and Arizona remain to be called, and both swing states are leaning Republican. Trump swept all five remaining swing states, North Carolina, Georgia, Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin, sealing his path to victory and giving him a strong mandate.
Popular Vote Tally
The count is ongoing, but Trump currently leads with nearly 51 per cent of the popular vote to Harris’s 47.6 per cent. Trump has over 72.2 million votes, while Harris trails with approximately 67.4 million.
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The specs
Engine: 2.7-litre 4-cylinder Turbomax
Power: 310hp
Torque: 583Nm
Transmission: 8-speed automatic
Price: From Dh192,500
On sale: Now
Teaching in coronavirus times