Bucks center Dan Gadzuric is returning to the style of play that he showed early in his NBA career.

Instead of worrying about critics who slam the six-year, $36 million contract he signed back in 2005, he's running the floor, rebounding and playing a valuable role off the bench.

"I feel like I need to go back to how I was in the beginning," Gadzuric said. "Run like I don't know what's happening.

"I've been trying to learn the game and I've learned a lot. I've been soaking it in, and maybe in the course of that, I kind of played more laid-back.

"It could be good, but I think it's not what the team needs from me. The team needs what I did in the beginning, hustling and the stuff I love to do anyways."

He is averaging 4.2 points and 4.0 rebounds in 13 minutes per game this season.

"I don't really read about all that stuff; I barely hear that," Gadzuric said of his critics. "I got the contract, and that's what I worked for. There are certain situations where I don't play a lot. That's just the way it is.

"That's what made me; the energy game, the hustle game. That's why I got paid. The fans get into it, teammates get into it and it changes the game a little bit. I don't need to score. I can dive on the floor, and that jumps over to the next play."