Andrew Bogut fractures tibia in Cleveland Cavaliers debut, out for season

Australian centre Andrew Bogut made an ill-fated debut for the Cleveland Cavaliers Monday as he fractured his left tibia within a minute into the game against the Miami Heat at the Quicken Loans Arena. Bogut, coming off the bench behind starter Tristan Thompson, is ruled out for the remainder of the season, per reports.

With 11:38 left in the second quarter, Bogut suffered the injury when his left leg collided with Okaro White while attempting to close out on the Miami Heat forward. The seven-footer had sprung out from the paint to the perimeter to try and defend White when his left shin crashed into the Heat forward's left knee. The 32-year-old was carted off back to the locker room by his teammates as he avoided exerting any weight on the leg.

LeBron James knew right away what had happened. "As soon as the collision happened, I heard it (his leg) break. And when I went over to him and he said (it was broken), I already knew it. I heard it crack. It took the air out of the whole building," James, who had previously exclaimed that Bogut's acquisition could go a long way in Cleveland successfully defending the NBA championship in June, rued after Monday's 106-98 defeat to the Miami Heat, via ESPN.

Andrew Bogut injury: Centre won't be helping the Cavs in the playoffs

After the X-rays at the arena revealed the fracture, the team announced that it was awaiting Bogut's MRI report. However, it's almost a foregone conclusion that Bogut is out for the rest of the season. "It's very deflating. It's a tough moment. We all were excited about the acquisition, you know, bring him in here. Him getting some games under his belt before the playoffs, so hopefully we can hope for the best with the MRI or whatever the case may be, but uh, it's a tough one. Not only obviously for him, first of all, but then for our ballclub."

Last month, the Dallas Mavericks traded Bogut to the Philadelphia 76ers at the NBA Trade Deadline before the Australian came to terms on a buyout with the Sixers. Upon reaching a buyout, Bogut considered other teams such as the Houston Rockets, San Antonio Spurs and Boston Celtics but decided to sign with the reigning NBA champions, in his pursuit of another ring. Many analysts speculated that Bogut's decision to sign with the Cavs was a direct shot at his former team, the Golden State Warriors, who traded him to the Dallas Mavericks last summer. However, Bogut was admittedly just chasing another championship ring.

"You always say you want to get back at them, this that, this that. You know, it's nothing to do with them. This decision was solely made on, you know -- I wasn't making this decision based on Golden State. I was making this decision based on what the best opportunity was. I'm a free agent at season's (end), and a chance to get another ring would be absolutely awesome," Bogut said of potentially facing the Warriors in June's finals.

Andrew Bogut was averaging 3.0 points and 8.3 rebounds per game for the Mavericks before getting traded to Philadelphia. He is expected to be heavily courted during free agency in July.