Andrew Bogut fractures left leg, leaves first Cavs game after one minute

This is just horrible luck

X-rays revealed that Cleveland Cavaliers center Andrew Bogut fractured his left tibia less than a minute into his first game with the team on Monday, the team announced. Bogut checked in to face the Miami Heat with 36 seconds left in the first quarter; 22 seconds into the second, he banged knees with Heat forward Okaro White, then hopped to the sideline and hit the floor. 

Bogut stayed down awhile, then was helped off the court. He did not put any weight on his left leg. Courtside microphones picked up Bogut saying that he thought he broke it. He received X-rays at Quicken Loans Arena and then was taken to the Cleveland Clinic for more testing.

Here’s the play:

This is obviously awful news for Bogut and the Cavaliers. The 32-year-old has already gone through two career-threatening injuries involving his elbow and his ankle. He got hurt during last year’s NBA Finals and signed with Cleveland because it gave him his best shot at getting back there. Cleveland signed him to address a lack of a defensive-minded big man on the second unit, and it sounds like it will have to look at other options now.

If Bogut is out for the season, which seems likely, it wouldn’t be surprising if the Cavs released him The buyout market has mostly dried up, though, so they won’t be able to find another veteran center of his caliber. Assuming they do not manage to sign a player who they’d trust to put on the floor in the playoffs, then they’ll be a less versatile team than they’d like to be in the postseason, with Tristan Thompson as their only real rim protector.