As of now the Golden State Warriors are saying that center Andrew Bogut will not play against the Clippers when the first-round Western Conference playoff series opens Saturday afternoon at Staples Center, and because he has a fractured rib he could miss the entire series.

Although Bogut could materialize at some point if for no other reason than he’s apparently tough and this is the postseason, it will be interesting to see if the Clippers can take advantage of his absence for the time being.

“He’s the anchor of their defense,” Clippers forward Matt Barnes said. “Tremendous rebounder, help-side defender, blocks shots, and it’s going to help us. But they have J.O. (back center Jermaine O’Neal) and (forward) Draymond Green – they’ll probably play small  – so that poses other problems, too.”

Bogut, who is 7-foot and 245 pounds, leads the Warriors in rebounding with a 10.0 average. He also averages 1.8 blocks and 7.3 points.