Gooden finding his way with Bulls
Every good NBA poster has a beginning.
For Drew Gooden, it came when received Ben Gordon's pass at the top of the key, quickly spun to his right avoiding a defender, dribbled once, took two steps toward the basket and hammered a one-handed dunk down on New Jersey Nets' Stromile Swift in the fourth quarter Tuesday night.
The posterizing slam put a closing exclamation point on the Bulls' victory while also marking the type of play the team has been seeing from Gooden a lot more lately.
After being acquired from the Cleveland Cavaliers in February, Gooden struggled to find consistency through his first nine games with the Bulls. He had nights in which he would go for a double-double, but then he would follow it would with a single-digit performance.
Finally, though, the 6-foot-10, 250-pound Gooden appears to be on track. After producing 19 points, 11 rebounds and 4 blocks Tuesday, Gooden has put together four consecutive consistent games. He has averaged 20.5 points, 10.5 rebounds and 2.8 blocks in that short span.
"That's what we thought when we made the trade; that's who we thought were getting," Bulls coach Jim Boylan said.
A major reason for Gooden's rise has been his familiarity with the team and the team's familiarity with him, according to Boylan.
"Well, Drew has turned up his aggressiveness with his rebounding and his offense, so the guys are starting to look to him," Boylan said. "Me, as a coach, I know I'm starting to feel like I can try to get him the ball in certain positions and certain match ups that he can get something done.
"It's nice to have a guy who you can throw the ball to down low and he's physical and can go to the basket, can score, get some fouls and whatever.
"I want him to be aggressive. I want him to assert himself at both ends of the floor. And I think he's been doing that over the last several games. So it's a good thing to see, and we want him to continue to do that."
Guarded approach: Looking to find mismatches, coach Jim Boylan opted to play multiple guards against the New Jersey Nets.
In Tuesday's win, Ben Gordon, Kirk Hinrich, Larry Hughes and Thabo Sefolosha all played 30-plus minutes.
"It adds another dimension to our team," Boylan said. "It's a tough adjustment for other teams. They have to match our speed and ballhandling out there. I like the fact we can get the ball to different people in different positions and they can make plays for each other."
Tourney time: As the NCAA Tournament begins its first-round games today, Connecticut, Duke, Kansas, Marquette, Michigan State and Pittsburgh all are represented by players and coaches on the Bulls' roster.
While some, such as Ben Gordon (UConn), are quiet about their allegiances, others are much louder.
"We're the hottest team in the country right now," said Bulls center Aaron Gray of his former school, Pittsburgh. "We just knocked off three ranked teams."
Gray, who hasn't seen much of an NBA floor lately, has kept close tabs on his former college team, including being put on speaker phone in the team's locker room after it won the Big East championship.
"It was like I was right there celebrating with them," he said. "It's just a great time -- March Madness. I'm so happy for them. I feel like I'm part of it."
Kirk Hinrich, a Kansas alum along with Drew Gooden, is said to be the other biggest college basketball talker on the team. Coach Jim Boylan doesn't believe his point guard will have much to celebrate in a few weeks.
"No way, Kansas can win," said Boylan, who picked Georgetown to win it all.
Being from Switzerland, guard Thabo Sefolosha doesn't have a college to support, so he takes the easy way out.
"I just watch, and I go with whoever wins," he said. "I'm like, 'That's my team.' "
Tonight's tipoff
Bulls vs. San Antonio Spurs at the United Center, 7 p.m.
TV: Comcast SportsNet
Radio: WMVP 1000-AM
Update: The defending champion Spurs (44-23) have lost four in a row and six of their last seven. Most of those defeats came against good teams on the road, but they also lost at home to Boston on Monday. The Spurs beat the Bulls in San Antonio 94-79 on Dec. 26 when assistant coach Pete Myers was in charge after the firing of Scott Skiles.
Players to watch: Shooting guard Manu Ginobili (20.4 ppg) is having a career year, while Tim Duncan (19.6 ppg) and Tony Parker (18.6 ppg) have been their usual selves. But some of the Spurs' older players are slowing down. Chicagoan Michael Finley is shooting a career-low 38.6 percent.
Next: Indiana Pacers at the United Center, 7:30 p.m. Saturday
-- Mike McGraw