In so, so many ways.

Andrew Bogut’s season ended early last night, after an appalling injury that I will not link to because I would rather you get a full night’s sleep.

My response – and I mean this in the full, three-year-old usage of the term – it’s just not fair.

It ain’t.

Sure, this injury won’t decide the identity of your 2010 NBA champions. It won’t decide who plays in the Finals, or the Conference Finals. Hell, it probably doesn’t even decide who wins a series (though the Bucks had the best chance of pulling off a first round upset in the East). Chances are, this just means that the Hawks/Celtics are a tad less tired when they get demolished by the Cavs/Magic.

Still not fair. Not one little bit.

Because if you’re an NBA fanatic like me – and if you’re not, I demand that you stop reading this instant, quit your job, get League Pass, watch at least 20 full-game replays, check the per-minute stats of the top 250 players in points per game, and get back to me – you know that Andrew Bogut, the sickly white, weird-haired, clumsy Australian center, was one of the most exciting players in the NBA this season. And watching him in the playoffs was another huge, bold and italic headline heading into this year’s postseason.

Sure, he shouldn’t have been drafted ahead of Deron Williams and Chris Paul. Sure, he looks kinda funny, much more Luc Longley/Greg Ostertag than he is Dwight Howard/Shaq. Sure, he’s never going to be in a dunk contest, and even when he (rightfully) makes an All-Star Game, his moves won’t make the highlight reel. But if you don’t like the beautiful interior passing, the world-class post defense, and that soft, soft touch around the basket, then you don’t like basketball.

And that’s before you get into the leadership. Bogut has spent the past few months of his life being the heart and soul of the league’s new up-and-coming, come-out-of-nowhere team. A team that defends, that shows and recovers, that swings the ball for the open shot. And even if they weren’t close to a title, this team was good. This was a squad that I was legitimately excited to see. “Can they beat the Hawks? They seem to play them well … wait, what about the Celtics? Ooooh, I’d love to see them against the Celtics! And how about that classic game against the Cavs? Seven games of that? Yes, please!”

Now?

“Can they beat the Hawks? No. Wait, what about the Celtics? No. And how about that classic against the Cavs? Seven games of that? Well, we won’t get it.”

Seriously, I hope you’re pumped to see Primoz Brezec get playoff minutes.

It depresses me, as a viewer of the game, that I am deprived of a fun player on a fun team playing fun basketball. And yes, I’ll find my kicks elsewhere. Hell, there’s not a single team in the league that I won’t watch. Every squad has at least 2 players for whom I monitor box scores on a daily basis. I mean it. Wolves? Love, Jefferson, Brewer, Flynn. Nets? Lopez, Harris, Courtney Lee, CDR. Pacers? Granger, Hibbert, Josh McRoberts (ha, fooled ya there). Pistons? Stuckey, Jerebko, Sir William Bynum. Try me. I dare you.

But even if you’re not a nutjob like me, even if you don’t go “Whoa! Four offensive boards for Chris Richard? Way to go, Chris!” Bogut made basketball just a bit funner. From the Duncan-esque statlines (31/18 or 25/14/5/1/2 or 18/14/4/6), to auditioning for the loudest, craziest fans in Milwaukee, so he can give them all season tickets and create “Squad 6,” the guy just gets it. (I can’t stress how great this Squad 6 idea is. I cordially invite you to come to a Hapoel Jerusalem game some time, and see how basketball crowds should behave. Squad 6 answers to that standard. See video below for background info.)

Which is what makes this so, so unfair. Forget about me and my quirks. I’m crushed no matter who gets injured. More than anybody else, this isn’t fair to Andrew Bogut. Because Andrew Bogut is what happens when you get over the injuries. After playing less than half a season last year, after his would be co-star tore his ACL for the second straight year, he comes back and leads a team stuck in nowhere land to the playoffs — for this to happen? I can’t imagine how bad it feels for him to miss the playoffs again after getting a slight taste of them in his rookie year, and missing them ever since.

This whole injury thing just sucks. And don’t give me the “it’s part of the game” speech. I know it’s part of the game. And it shouldn’t be. When the basketball gods had their “let’s create basketball” meeting, and they were discussing what they would like to include in the game, the son of a bitch that said “injuries! We gotta have injuries!” just made himself an enemy for life.

I can honestly say that this is the second most depressed I’ve been after an injury all season (get well soon, Greg Oden).

And it sucks.

This is a video about Squad 6. Not a video of Bogut’s injury. If you really want to watch that, go here. Disclaimer: It’s really, really gross.

As some of you know, I enjoy this whole Twitter fad these whipper snappers are always talking about. For general NBA stuff, I tweet under @BothTeamsPlayed and I also do a lot of in-game commenting on my Pacers under @8pts9secs. (I also cover Indy over at 8 Points, 9 Seconds, if you weren’t aware.)

But it’s not just me. The entire NBA world has embraced the micro-blogging social media site as much as any other community I can imagine. Media folks like @russbengston, @StackMack and @RobMahoney drop knowledge during games. Players like @KevinDurant35, @AndrewMBogut and @OneandonlyCP3 talk with fans constantly.

All in all, it’s pretty great.

And it seems like at least one NBA player has found a way to make money off of it. I’m not sure exactly what the consensus is on the the kosher-ness of doing this, but Jon Brockman (@MrJonBrockman), a rookie reserve with the Sacramento Kings, is reportedly getting paid to send out corporate-sponsored tweets from his account, according to Business Insider.

Jon Brockman of the Sacramento Kings has 319,195 followers on Twitter.  Tweeting “Has anyone seen the new Volvo C30? There are tons of features on this thing! Check it out…http://spn.tw/5q81 #ad” earns him around $411, SponsoredTweets.com reports.

$411 per tweet isn’t all that much. But it is roughly $411 more than I make per tweet.

As for whether or not celebrities should be doing this (Kim Kardashian reportedly makes $10,000 per tweet and Soulja Boy may make something similar), I don’t really care.

It’s obviously a little disingenuous, but none more so than doing a “corny”commercial for PowerBar, Samsung or Taco Bell. (What up, Lamar Odom. Nice shirt.)

Can’t knock the hustle, ya know.

UPDATE: Forgot to mention that Lamar’s wife, Khloe Kardashian, reportedly makes $1,359 per sponsored tweet. Here’s a full list of other “celebrities” tweeting for dollars.)

Now … did he really enjoy the cake or is he just saying he did cause the cake shop paid him? I mean, I’m guessing he likes cake regardless cause who doesn’t like cake? But you know what I’m saying.

(Photo by Gary Dineen/NBAE via Getty Images)

…or something.

Basically, once upon a time, Andrew Bogut got fouled and was supposed to shoot two free throws. But he’s a terrible free-throw shooter as you know. So Brandon Jennings, who is a good free-throw shooter and a guy who me and like a dozen other people call The Pterodactyl, thought to himself that he could use the ensuing commotion of the referee telling the scorer’s table what had just happened to sneak in and take the free-throws.

And it worked.

Sorta.

Brandon steps to the line, catches the pass from the referee and shoots — and makes — the first free-throw. But the other ref soon realizes what’s going on and runs over and is all like “the jig is up, Pterodactyl Face With The Flat Top” and takes the ball away, ruining both Brandon’s master scheme and disappointing all the children.

Then Bogut goes to the line as regularly scheduled.

And, in a tale as old as time, he misses two free throws.

The end.

(video via BareKnucks)

I’ve neglected to post so many great NBA videos over the past month that it almost feels weird to drop such a gem. But sure enough, here we have Adam Morrison stealing a free-throw high five from the Dallas Mavericks.

I honestly am not sure if he was actually trying to be slick and funny for if he’s just such a weirdo headcase at this point that he’s not exactly sure how the free throw protocol goes anymore. (video via Ball Don’t Lie and Oh Me Oh My, The Jello’s Jigglin’)

Either was, as far as free throw handshaking shenanigans goe, this one is indeed great but is definitely still only a distant second to Andrew Bogut’s classic self-high fives (second video).

That was epic. Nice work, Andy Bogues.