Bulls' Gibson keeps quiet on hand injury

When discussing ligament damage in his left hand, which had been kept secret, Bulls forward Taj Gibson said coach Tom Thibodeau encouraged him to keep quiet about the injury, no matter how many questions he was asked about not playing well on the court.

On Monday at the United Center, Thibodeau talked about his recommendation, which seems to fit into the old-school attitude of never letting an opponent know you're hurt.

"Yeah, I do (believe in that philosophy)," Thibodeau said before playing Milwaukee. "I believe in mental toughness. I don't think you ever help your opponents. I know the mindset of certain teams when they know there's something ailing, they're going after it. So I just think it's smart to keep that to yourself."

Speaking of unknown injuries, Gibson also mentioned teammate Jimmy Butler as an inspiration. Butler has had his thumb taped up in recent weeks, so that part wasn't unknown, but it was never talked about or written in the injury report.

"It really does hurt, so I know exactly what Taj was going through with all of that," Butler told reporters at Monday's shootaround. "But Taj toughed it out and he gave us everything that he could."

"You have moments whenever the ball hits it or you land and you try to catch yourself on the ground and tweaks it a little bit.

"But the majority of time it's just scar tissue that's just breaking apart, so I'm told. It will be all right, just keep going."

New Bucks guard still out:

Michael Carter-Williams, acquired by Milwaukee just before last week's trade deadline, has yet to make his Bucks debut because of a right-foot strain. Jerryd Bayless has started at point guard since the Bucks sent Brandon Knight to Phoenix.

"I'm progressing each day," Carter-Williams said, according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. "I'm just trying to get better and learn the system and get healthy all at once."

The Bucks' next game is against Philadelphia, Carter-Williams' former team. The former Syracuse star won rookie of the year last season with the 76ers, but he may not play in that game, either.

"We play Philly a bunch of times, so I'll get my chance," Carter-Williams said.

Bucks rookie recovering:

Milwaukee coach Jason Kidd talked about the progress of rookie Jabari Parker, who was lost for the season with a knee injury on Dec. 15.

"He's been around and he's part of the team," Kidd said. "He's doing quite well. I think he's mature for his age and understands this injury hopefully will make him stronger. You can also become a student of the game and from the seat he's at, and I think he's taking full advantage of that."

Bull horns:

Coach Tom Thibodeau before the game on playing without Kirk Hinrich or Taj Gibson due to illness: "We have Niko. We've got Cam, Nazr. We have enough." He was referring to Nikola Mirotic, Cameron Bairstow and Nazr Mohammed. The latter two did not play a significant role in Monday's game. …

Bucks coach Jason Kidd on saying goodbye to Brandon Knight, who led the surprising Bucks into playoff position: "It's very emotional. … It was a tough conversation to have, but it was a better conversation later that night, understanding what's in front of him."