Suntimes:Bulls guard Ben Gordon was caught off guard Tuesday by an Internet report that said he's unhappy with his role and wants to become a starter.
''I don't know what that was,'' Gordon said before the Bulls played the Orlando Magic on Tuesday at the United Center. ''It didn't come from me. I don't know nothing about it.''
Even though he continues to play a reserve role, Gordon -- who won the NBA's Sixth Man Award last season as a rookie -- clearly is one of the team's most important players. He entered the Orlando game leading the team in scoring with an average of 14 points, one of six Bulls averaging in double figures. He was sixth on the team in minutes played with an average of 28, but only Kirk Hinrich (34.5) and Chris Duhon (35.4) were averaging more than 28.5 minutes.
Against the Magic, Gordon scored seven points on 2-for-8 shooting in 201/2 minutes.
''Knowing Ben, I think he's comfortable in his role,'' Bulls coach Scott Skiles said.
Gordon got off to a slow start this season before scoring a total of 37 points in the previous two games before Tuesday. One problem has been his shooting from two-point range. Amazingly, Gordon was 20-for-49 (40.8 percent) on three-pointers but only 37-for-103 (35.9 percent) on two-pointers.
''It's just a matter of shot selection, defenses concentrating more on me and I just have to figure out how to get easy baskets for myself,'' he said. ''In this league, it's hard to come by easy shots.''
