Warriors' Bogut had X-rays on knee after Game 4, says he's OK

The Golden State Warriors leveled their Western Conference semifinal series with the Memphis Grizzlies in Game 4 on Monday, thanks in large part to a ballsy defensive adjustment.

The Warriors decided to stick center Andrew Bogut on Grizzlies wing Tony Allen, hoping it would allow Bogut to crash down into the paint and bring hard double-teams on Zach Randolph and Marc Gasol - who murdered the Warriors in Game 3 - without risking too much by leaving the bricky Allen open on the perimeter.

It worked. Allen shot 2-of-9 and missed all three of his 3-point attempts, Memphis' offense became a clogged toilet (70.7 points per 100 possessions) with Allen on the floor, and the Grizzlies were forced to pull their best perimeter defender for all but 16 minutes of game time. Bogut was a game-high plus-21 in his 30 minutes on the floor.

The Warriors may or may not return to that well - one assumes the Grizzlies' staff has been busy drawing up a counter-strategy - but at least they know they have the option.

Bogut was said to be dealing with sore ribs after Game 4, and ended up having X-rays taken. It turns out the X-rays were on his left knee, which had also been bothering him, according to Rusty Simmons of the San Francisco Chronicle.

That may be slightly worrisome, but the X-rays came back negative, and Bogut says both his ribs and his knee feel fine. He's not expected to be limited in Wednesday's Game 5.

The Warriors had better hope not. So far this postseason, they've given up 9.8 fewer points per 100 possession with Bogut on court.