Lopez says goodbye to Bulls in successful Bucks debut
Robin Lopez had an eventful preseason debut with the Milwaukee Bucks. Playing against his former team, Lopez started alongside his twin brother Brook for the first time since their college days at Stanford and was the Bucks' leading scorer with 14 points.
Robin officially broke up with former good pal Benny the Bull during a timeout and kept up his long-running bit of having nothing nice to say about his brother.
Asked after the game how much Brook played a role in his decision to sign with Milwaukee, the answer was apparently none at all.
"Obviously, it's a great organization," Robin said. "I think you go down the list, they've got a lot of great guys, great coaching staff, great front office. I think it's an optimal situation for anybody."
Should Bucks coach Mike Budenholzer continue playing the Lopez twins together?
"We'll see. We're growing as a team," Robin said. "I'm getting acclimated playing with everybody on the floor. So we'll see what happens."
It was a little strange playing the first game for a new team against the old team, but Lopez had nice things to say about the previous three years he spent with the Bulls.
"They never made an offer (this summer), but I don't want to say there wasn't a chance (of returning)," he said. "I enjoyed playing with these guys, watching all of us grow.
"I played with those guys a while, for a good bit. So to see them again so quickly, it was good, I think. It was refreshing."
For most of his NBA career, Lopez has had comedic run-ins with various mascots. During Monday's game, Benny the Bull held up a sign saying he doesn't do long distance, then threw a cardboard cutout of Lopez into a trash can. This storyline seems likely to continue.
Carter still waiting:
Wendell Carter Jr. remains sidelined with a bruised tailbone and coach Jim Boylen called him doubtful for Wednesday's game against New Orleans.
"I'm feeling a little bit better, moving around a little bit more, but it still kind of hurts a lot, so taking it one day at a time," Carter said Tuesday at the Advocate Center. "I'm going to try and go in the shootaround tomorrow, but I'm not going to rush it back.
"I was playing pickup like the third day of training camp, and Zach (LaVine) went up for a layup and kind of fell into me. I fell back and just fell right on it. I got up and ran, and as soon as I moved I knew what I did."
The Bulls have only five preseason games, but Carter still has two weeks to recover before the Oct. 23 season opener in Charlotte.
"I do definitely think about that it might go a little longer than I expected, but it's still very, very early in the season, so just take it slow and keep pushing," Carter said.
Boylen expects center Frank Kornet, who's been out with turf toe, to play Wednesday. Chandler Hutchison and Shaq Harrison are still out with hamstring injuries.
Loss is still a loss:
The Bulls' 122-112 loss to Milwaukee in the preseason opener wasn't very inspiring, since the Bucks didn't play most of their starters.
"They came in upset, had a little edge this morning, which is good," coach Jim Boylen said of his players. "They're not satisfied. I did like the 38 free throws and 38 3-point attempts and 24 steals. I don't like the 112. I'd like that to be better. And I don't like the 122 either.
"I'm not a person to say, 'Well, it's preseason.' We've got to have standards here and we've got to keep going."