Ex-Bull Robinson speaks up for Brooks
Aaron Brooks played pee-wee football with fellow Seattle native Nate Robinson, starting when he was 7 years old.
"We never lost, every age group," Brooks said before Thursday's game.
Brooks and Robinson played AAU basketball and ran track together, but there's one sport Robinson refuses to play Brooks.
"Aaron's a heck of a bowler," Robinson said. "He's probably the best bowler in the NBA, left or right handed. Him and his family have been doing bowling leagues since he was 2 or 3 years old."
The way things have been going for the Bulls in recent years, they might as well establish the Nate Robinsion Memorial backup point guard internship.
Robinson was brilliant while filling in for the injured Derrick Rose in 2012-13 and was cheered loudly by Bulls fans at Thursday's game. D.J. Augustin had a nice run last season and now Brooks has taken over the role of providing a nice spark at point guard.
The big difference is, Brooks gets to play with Rose sometimes, where the other guys didn't.
"I told him I just hope this is not a one-stop shop deal, especially what he's doing," Robinson said. "In past years, (the Bulls) have shown they don't want to keep guys that come in like myself and Aaron for too long.
"They had D.J. Augustin last year, who did a heck of a job, and look what happened. Hopefully it's a long-term commitment for him. I know he deserves it."
Robinson made it clear he wanted to return to the Bulls in 2013, but without much money to spend, they chose not to do it and Robinson got a two-year deal in Denver. Even so, he was happy to be back at the United Center.
"It's always lovely to come back here," Robinson said. "I tell people Chicago's my second home. Everybody's like, 'We'd love to have you back.' Just to hear that, you can tell they really appreciate what I did here and what I brought to the table, because I did it from my heart and did it for the fans."
LeBron on shelf:
The Cleveland Cavaliers announced Thursday that LeBron James will be out two weeks because of knee and back strains. If that timetable holds up, James would be back when the Bulls visit Cleveland on Jan. 19.
During his first 11 years in the league, James has been remarkably durable, never missing more than eight games in a season.
"There's no rhyme or reason. It happens. It's part of the game," Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau said. "We have enough to worry about. I'm not feeling sorry for them. I have great respect for their team, but we have our own issues here."
Gasol moves up:
Pau Gasol moved up a spot in the latest NBA all-star voting returns. He passed New York's Carmelo Anthony into second place among East frontcourt, behind LeBron James. Joakim Noah is sixth.
Among guards, Jimmy Butler and Derrick Rose ranks fifth and sixth, respectively. Washington's John Wall and Miami's Dwyane Wade are the top two, followed by Cleveland's Kyrie Irving and Toronto's Kyle Lowry.