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Since the end of last season, the Bucks’ center has flown roundtrip from Milwaukee to Melbourne twice and traveled to Croatia and China, where he represented Australia in the Olympic Games.
Now, he’s back in China for the NBA China Games, which have the Bucks taking on the Golden State Warriors in a pair of exhibition games this week.
“It’s going to take a lot out of guys,” Bogut said. “The jet lag is one of the toughest things to get over. It took me two weeks (to adjust) when I came back from Australia. During training camp, I was still waking up at 4 in the morning.
“It’s tough in that sense, but in the sense of bonding as a team, it’s great. The schedule is what it is; you can’t change it. We’ve got to make a positive out of it.”
The Bucks first game against Golden State will be tonight
(7 a.m. Milwaukee time) in Guangzhou. The teams play again Saturday morning in Beijing (10:30 p.m. Friday Milwaukee time).
Both games will be televised live on ESPN2.
The Bucks’ appearance in Guangzhou was planned to showcase Chinese star Yi Jianlian, selected with the sixth overall pick in the 2007 draft. But Yi was always lukewarm to Milwaukee, and the Bucks traded him and Bobby Simmons to New Jersey in June in exchange for veteran forward Richard Jefferson.
Coach Scott Skiles said the Bucks will do some sightseeing in China, but it’s not a vacation. He plans to use the trip to get the team ready for its regular-season opener against his former Chicago Bulls on Oct. 28 at the United Center.
“We’ve got to get something done, but at the same time, we’ll look around,” Skiles said. “We’ll get to go to the Great Wall and see some other things, which is nice.
“But we’re 0-4 in exhibition season right now, and we’ve been really spotty with our play. We’ve got to try to build momentum leading into the regular season, and this trip is a big part of it.”
The Bucks expect to start Luke Ridnour at the point with veteran Tyronn Lue in reserve. But Ridnour has been limited to 34 minutes of play in two exhibition games because of right knee tendinitis.
That means the Bucks are still feeling their way after their 111-99 loss to the Detroit Pistons on Saturday night.
“This is definitely a process,” forward Charlie Villanueva said. “It’s tough, because it’s a new system defensively and offensively.
“And there’s a bunch of new faces, guys we haven’t played with. The preseason is getting acclimated with one another, and there are going to be little bumps here and there. But I’m not worried about the regular season. When Oct. 28 hits, we’re going to be ready.”
