Andrew Bogut has hay fever but expected to play in Game 1

It turns out that Andrew Bogut is just a 7-foot, Australian version of Milhouse.

Bogut is being plagued by hay fever ahead of the Western Conference Finals, which tip off between his Golden State Warriors and the Houston Rockets on Tuesday. The defensive anchor fully expects to play, save for the unlikely scenario in which the Rockets infiltrate the air ducts in Oakland.

"As long as there's no pollen in Oracle (Arena)," Bogut said of his Game 1 status.

The symptoms of hay fever mimic those of a cold, and Bogut is likely fighting through some congestion. The Warriors will need him to tough it out, as his matchup at the pivot against Dwight Howard is a key battle in this series. As explained in our series preview:

But going small introduces its own challenge, particularly when Andrew Bogut hits the bench. Steve Kerr will likely match Bogut's rest periods with Dwight Howard's, but Howard plays more and could conceivably get Bogut in early foul trouble, and the Warriors may not want to task (Draymond) Green with checking Howard, who has looked terrific in the playoffs.

While Bogut has said his primary pick-and-roll focus will be on containing James Harden's forays into the lane, he stands to spend a lot of time going toe-to-toe with Howard, either on the block or when Howard acts as the dive-man.

Howard's been terrific in the playoffs so far, with the long rest and knee treatments he took late in the regular season clearly paying off. In 12 playoff games, he's averaging 17.2 points, 13.8 rebounds and 2.5 blocks while shooting 58.8 percent from the floor, all in 33.3 minutes.

Bogut can't hope to match that production - he averaged 6.3 points, 8.1 rebounds and 1.7 blocks in the regular season, and he's scored even less in the playoffs - but he's the team's foremost option to limit Howard's output. Even with his allergies acting up.