Bucks’ Gooden Tweets a bit of bathroom wit
Before the Bulls’ big lead went down the toilet, idle Milwaukee center Drew Gooden added an odd twist to the I-94 rivalry.
Gooden announced via Twitter that he’d give his tickets to Monday’s game to the first fan who sent a picture of a Bulls jersey in the toilet.
The winning picture featured a Kirk Hinrich jersey, which was ironic since Hinrich and Gooden were college teammates at Kansas. Gooden also had a brief stay with the Bulls from the trade deadline of 2008 to the trade deadline in ’09.
“I don’t think Kirk even follows Twitter,” Gooden said before the game. “Hopefully he didn’t see that.”
Gooden has not played in a game this season and was inactive for Monday’s contest. The contest might have had its origins in Twitter banter between Gooden and Bulls center Joakim Noah. Noah considers Gooden one of his best friends in the league.
Skiles shakes things up:Milwaukee coach Scott Skiles made some changes to his starting lineup Monday, using rookie power forward John Henson and veteran center Sam Dalembert.When the Bulls won in Milwaukee on Saturday, Dalembert didn#146;t play and Henson logged one minute, despite piling up 17 points and 18 rebounds in the Bucks#146; previous contest against Miami.Skiles used slumping forward Ersan Ilyasova off the bench. Like Bulls forward Taj Gibson, Ilyasova signed a new contract before the season, then got off to a slow start. Before the game, Skiles was asked if players can feel pressured by a hefty pay raise.#147;I think on an individual basis, anything can happen,#148; he said. #147;A guy could lay around all summer and get fat and come back lazy. Another guy could put pressure on himself, feel a burden of it. That could weigh him down a little bit. Some guys also just kind of take it in stride.#147;I think it just depends on individual players and who they are. I do think 12-13 games in is unfair to judge anybody on what their season#146;s going to be like. I#146;m hopeful in a couple weeks, Ers is playing well again and we#146;re not talking about it anymore.#148;Bucks without Bogut:During the two-game series with the Bulls, Milwaukee coach Scott Skiles talked about his team#146;s progress since trading center Andrew Bogut to Golden State for guard Monta Ellis last February.#147;If I#146;m correct, I believe we#146;re 19-15 since that trade and one of those games was one nobody (in the trade) played in,#148; Skiles said. #147;So it would be 18-15. Our winning percentage has been better.#147;But if your goals are to be 18-15 over a 33-game stretch, you better look in the mirror and check what kind of goals and dreams you have. Obviously, it#146;s been a trade that#146;s benefited us from a pure record standpoint.#148;BKN14101868Bulls guard Kirk Hinrich was an unwitting part of a prank by the Bucks Drew Gooden, who announced via Twitter that he would give his tickets to Mondays game to the first fan who sent a picture of a Bulls jersey in the toilet. The winning photo featured a Hinrich jersey.Associated PressBKN