Bulls' Mirotic knows playoffs will be different
Nikola Mirotic played in three EuroLeague Final Fours with Real Madrid. How big a jump is it from there to the NBA playoffs?
Mirotic is wondering that himself.
"When I talk with my teammates, they tell me the playoffs are going to be really, really different, so I'm trying right now to prepare myself," Mirotic said after Saturday's 111-80 victory over New York.
"Especially the defense, because I know if I want to be on the court, I have to be good at defense. So I'm ready and I'm working hard and we'll see what it means for me."
The Bulls have a mini-break ahead, with three days off before playing Wednesday at Milwaukee. They are looking forward to the playoffs but also want to stay focused on the final eight games of the regular season.
If the playoffs started today, the Bulls would be the No. 3 seed in the East and face the Bucks in the first round. But plenty of things could change. The Bulls are just 2 games in the loss column behind second-place Cleveland and 1 ahead of Toronto.
"We are trying to prepare ourselves for something special," Mirotic said. "Right now it's our moment and we just need to be focused and try to get every game."
Mirotic has secured a spot in the playoff rotation, without a doubt. He scored 24 points against the Knicks and has now led the Bulls in scoring in eight of the last 15 games. He's averaging 20.8 points in March.
Teammate Pau Gasol is thinking about whether anything he can say or do will help Mirotic get ready for his playoff debut.
"I'll try to let him know as much as I can," Gasol said. "There's only so much preparation, because he needs to experience it. He needs to feel it and understand what it's going to be like and hopefully it won't take him long to figure it out.
"I always remember my first playoffs games, how different they are. The intensity, the tension, the pressure, the fans - its just a different scenario. You've just have to be mentally ready so it doesn't throw you off."
The Bulls have been talking about finishing strong and trying to get the best result possible when it comes to playoff seeding.
They play at Cleveland next Sunday, and if the Bulls win that game they would split the season series 2-2 and win any tiebreaker against the Cavs based on a better conference record.
But it won't be easy to pull that off. For starters, the Bulls need to win that game on the road and the Cavaliers have a soft finishing schedule, with five of their last seven games at home. The Cavs edged Philadelphia 87-86 on Sunday.
"I'm looking forward to playing in these playoffs, but right now we can't think about the playoffs," Mirotic said. "We have to think game by game because we want to try to get second in our conference, so we'll see."
The postgame atmosphere in the Bulls' locker room Saturday took a somber tone when Joakim Noah was asked about the shooting death of Uchenna Agina, who was killed on the South Side just a few hours after meeting with Noah about an anti-violence event. Agina reportedly was the manager for rapper Lil Durk.
"It's very sad," Noah said. "What's going on in this city is very real. I signed up for this. I'm just doing everything I can to do something positive. Just need to keep up the good fight.
"I know everything I'm doing with my foundation comes from my heart. I think it's real important that we don't turn our backs on anybody.
"I just know somebody came to my house. We were talking about doing some work for the kids and doing something positive. He got murdered. I never experienced anything like that. My respects go to his family and to his friends. I just hope we can find solutions."
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