Chicago Bulls vs. Indiana Pacers: 3 Takeaways, Notes from Monday's Win

Dec 26, 2016; Chicago, IL, USA; Chicago Bulls forward Nikola Mirotic (44) shoots over Indiana Pacers forward Thaddeus Young (21) during the first half at the United Center. Mandatory Credit: David Banks-USA TODAY Sports

All it took was the return of Michael Carter-Williams, some big shot-making from Dwyane Wade and Nikola Mirotic, and a bit of luck for the Chicago Bulls to snap out of their recent funk. Here’s a few takeaways from Monday night’s victory.

Coming into Monday night’s game with the Indiana Pacers, the Chicago Bulls were sitting at 14-16 with a 4-9 record in the month of December to the present time.

There’s no one thing to point to when it comes the recent struggles of the Bulls. Call it regressing to the mean. Call it a bad roster who was presented to the public in a more positive fashion than it should’ve been.

Regardless of your label of the Bulls and their recent nine losses in the last 13 games, they have been bad. Period.

But, Monday night was a tiny step in the right direction. Dwyane Wade was making plays like it was 2008. Nikola Mirotic had what many would call the best (and most important) game of the season for his own status.

And most importantly, the Chicago Bulls are 4-0 when Michael Carter-Williams plays in a game.

In this edition of post-game takeaways for the Bulls, we’ll examine the return of MCW, Mirotic’s potential slump-buster and a lot more.

Dec 26, 2016; Chicago, IL, USA; Chicago Bulls guard Dwyane Wade (3) reacts after dunking against the Indiana Pacers in the final seconds of the game during the second half at the United Center. The Bulls won 90-85. Mandatory Credit: David Banks-USA TODAY Sports

1. He may not be as quick anymore, but The Flash can still make an impact

Dwyane Wade’s numbers without a day of rest in between games are quite awful this season. (To be fair, he’s 34 years old with a ton of miles on his legs, but you get the idea.)

In five games played in the second game of a back-to-back set this season, Wade is shooting just 33.3 percent from the field on 14.4 shot attempts from the field. You don’t need a calculator to tell you that those numbers are bad.

However on Monday night, Wade followed up his stellar offensive performance against the San Antonio Spurs on Christmas Day with a 21-point, five-assist showing, including two huge plays late to help the Bulls seal the deal against their division rivals from Indiana.

With just over two minutes left and the Bulls clinging to a 80-78 lead, Wade drilled a tough fadeaway from the right corner to give the Bulls a tiny four-point cushion in the final 2:30.

Then, with the Bulls leading by three inside of the final 30 seconds, Wade sealed the game with the play of the game: a steal of a bad Aaron Brooks (remember that guy?) pass and a slam to ice the game away.

It wasn’t the most stellar performance overall from the Bulls, but when Jimmy Butler shoots 3-of-12 from the field in 40 minutes of action and the Bulls shoot under 40 percent as a team, sometimes a veteran and a future Hall of Famer can get you out of trouble.

Dec 26, 2016; Chicago, IL, USA; Chicago Bulls guard Michael Carter-Williams (7) shoots over Indiana Pacers guard Rodney Stuckey (2) during the first half at the United Center. Mandatory Credit: David Banks-USA TODAY Sports

2. The Bulls are undefeated when Michael Carter-Williams plays

Michael Carter-Williams has played in four games for the Bulls this season.

The Bulls are 4-0 in those games.

Yes, that means something and no, it doesn’t mean anything.

Carter-Williams’ return to the Bulls rotation saw the former NBA Rookie of the Year award winner play 19 minutes, including being a part of the reason that Rajon Rondo only played 24 minutes and didn’t log a single second in the fourth quarter of Monday’s win.

In those 19 minutes, MCW missed all five of his shot attempts, which is probably expected for a guy that had issues scoring the basketball long before the wrist and knee injuries he suffered on Halloween night in Brooklyn kept him out for 27 games this season.

He’s never going to be an offensive threat for the Bulls, but having Carter-Williams back in the rotation means less Rondo (which is good for the Bulls’ long-term future) and a solid defender as a lead guard off the bench.

Dec 26, 2016; Chicago, IL, USA; Chicago Bulls forward Nikola Mirotic (44) is defended by Indiana Pacers guard Glenn Robinson III (40) during the first half at the United Center. Mandatory Credit: David Banks-USA TODAY Sports

3. Nikola Mirotic needed this game more than the Bulls did

Regardless if you think Nikola Mirotic is/is going to be a good NBA player, no one can deny that the 25-year-old does have flashes of awesome play for the Bulls.

There have been and there are going to be some nights where Mirotic is going to have to pick up the slack from the starters and throughout most of the season, Mirotic has done nothing to provide support for the main pieces of the rotation.

And then, Mirotic has the game he had on Monday and then everyone wonders, “Is this where he turns the corner?”

In 30 minutes of game time on Monday, Mirotic scored 20 points off the bench on 7-of-13 shooting against the Pacers. It wasn’t his shooting that made him headline news. It was the way he was scoring and it was his fantastic play on both ends (specifically late in the ballgame) that made Mirotic stand out.

Mirotic was scoring from the post, hitting outside shots, making plays off the dribble and looking like the guy the Bulls were hoping he’d be at the start of this season.

Remember the video of Dwyane Wade’s game-sealing steal that you’ve already watch in this list? Notice the defender that hounded Aaron Brooks into throwing a terrible cross-court pass right to Wade to end the game. It was Mirotic.

Oh, and there’s really no way to describe the shot Mirotic hit over Thaddeus Young, who was all over him in the final seconds of the shot clock with the Bulls’ lead sitting at just one with 21.2 seconds left.

Dec 26, 2016; Chicago, IL, USA; Chicago Bulls forward Jimmy Butler (21) and Indiana Pacers guard Aaron Brooks (00) go for a loose ball during the second half at the United Center. The Bulls won 90-85. Mandatory Credit: David Banks-USA TODAY Sports

4. A bonus takeaway (which is just an excuse to mention some related notes)

Final thoughts:

The Bulls needed this one. Sure, beating a team in your division is always nice for tiebreaker purposes and what not, but the Bulls had lost nine of their last 12 games and were sitting two games under the .500 mark. A win was just what the doctor ordered for the Bulls.

This four-game week is huge for the Bulls, being that three of the four games are against the Central Division.

Plus, here are the next five opponents for the Bulls after this week: Charlotte, at Cleveland, Toronto, Oklahoma City, at Washington. That’s not an easy stretch of games at all.

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