AUBURN HILLS, Mich. -- In retrospect, Ben Gordon believes his desire to play against his former team caused him to rush back from a sprained left ankle before he should have for the first meeting between the Bulls and Detroit Pistons four weeks ago.
''I definitely did,'' Gordon said Thursday before the rematch between the teams at the Palace of Auburn Hills. ''I was still out there limping. I didn't come back when I was ready and had to sit out nine more games.''
After playing against the Bulls on Dec. 2, Gordon played in another game, then sat for the next nine. He didn't return to action until Sunday, and Thursday's game was just his third since then.
''It just wasn't getting any better,'' he said. ''I had a pretty bad sprain. Everybody will tell you the best thing to do is to stay off of it so it can get better. I didn't do that, so it just kind of lingered.
''It's feeling a lot better. I'm still not all the way there, but it's feeling a lot better than it was before. It's probably one of those things I'll have to play with, and eventually it'll go away.''
When he arrived at the United Center on Dec. 2, it was unclear whether Gordon would play. He tested the injury and admitted he got caught up in the excitement of playing against his former team for the first time.
''When I got there, I was a little more excited to play, and that's why I played,'' he said.
Bulls coach Vinny Del Negro didn't answer directly when asked before the game if he was satisfied with general manager Gar Forman's remarks Tuesday about his job status.
''It's been beat up so much, I just really want to focus in on the game and what my job is with this team,'' Del Negro said. ''I think all that stuff will play itself out. I think we just have to try to move forward a little bit and see what direction things go.''
At this point, Del Negro probably believes a winning streak is his best hope to stop the speculation.
Posts
