Westerlund: Options Are Endless For The Bulls

By Cody Westerlund-

CHICAGO (CBS) – New to playing a role on an NBA closing unit, Bulls forward Nikola Mirotic explained the feeling of being a central figure in crunch time in Chicago's come-from-behind 114-105 win against Houston on Monday night at the United Center.

"For me, every game here is like a final in Europe," said Mirotic, a rookie Montenegrin who previously played for Real Madrid in the Spanish league.

"It was a great feeling, really, playing the last minutes."

Monday night left many with similar emotions. Bulls big man Joakim Noah thought it had a "playoff feel." Considering no January contest can be a statement game, center Pau Gasol called it "a big win … a good test."

It was also a contest that provided a glimpse into what's become so significant for the Bulls (25-10) now that we're 35 games into the season -- they're continuing to win in a number of ways.

Playing your fourth game in six nights against a solid Pelicans squad recently? Sure, closing with little-used guard E'Twaun Moore will work.

Have a star point guard who's in one of the biggest shooting slumps of his career? Derrick Rose still has the fourth quarter under control against the Nuggets.

The team can't shoot worth a lick against the Celtics on Saturday night? Forty trips to the free-throw line will solve that problem.

Down eight in the fourth quarter against a quality Rockets team that boasts the league's leading scorer and is second in the NBA in defensive efficiency? A big dose of two-way play from Jimmy Butler and a splendid showing from Mirotic at small forward will pave the way in crunch time.

"You have to be ready to handle everything – a fast-paced team, a medium-paced team," Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau said. "Usually, when you get to the playoffs – if we're fortunate enough to get there – those teams are going to be balanced. They're going to be good in transition, and going to be good executing in half-court. They're going to be good defensively. You have to prepare for that."

For the Bulls, there are many paths to victory on any given night, and that more than anything is what bodes so well as the season moves along. We've long known Thibodeau teams can grind out wins more often than not with a trusted quintet and a hard-nosed defense.

Now, we're seeing that they can roar to victory simply by utilizing the five players who create the biggest matchup problems for any given foe.

On Monday, that meant giving the 6-foot-10 Mirotic – typically a stretch-four – heavy minutes at small forward, including down the stretch. Mirotic rewarded his coach with some of the best defense he's played all season and by scoring nine of his 17 points in the fourth quarter, including a game-sealing 3-pointer from the right corner with 40 seconds left.

With Gasol and Noah joining Mirotic, the Bulls closed with a front line that went 7-foot, 6-foot-11 and 6-foot-10 while a premier perimeter defender in Jimmy Butler hounded NBA scoring leader James Harden into a 7-of-22 shooting night.

Houston scored just seven points in the final 7:43 as Chicago erased a 98-90 deficit.

"It's important to win in different ways," Noah said. "Our constant has to be our defense. I think our defense is getting better."

Whether Thibodeau leans on Mirotic at small forward moving forward remains to be seen, but it's a mighty intriguing concept -- and we may have glimpsed the future Monday. Without question, the group of Derrick Rose, Butler, Mirotic, Noah and Gasol has more ball skills than any other quintet Chicago could reasonably utilize late in a game, and Mirotic said he's plenty comfortable at his new position.

"Play simple basketball, that's what I was doing these last two games," Mirotic said, also referencing his Saturday start at small forward. "Sharing the ball. If I had an open shot, take it. The big change for me was playing defense. I was not sure if I could do that. I think it was not bad the last two games."

If you're thinking big picture, there could already be a strong argument made that those five Bulls should be the closers because they can provide the firepower to make Chicago not just good but even elite offensively – which will be needed to top a Western Conference foe in a seven-game playoff series.

In short, the possibilities are endless, and there's ample time to work them out.

"I like the way we're doing things," Gasol said. "I like our potential. Our potential, I think, is incredible."

Cody Westerlund is a sports editor for CBSChicago.com and covers the Bulls. Follow him on Twitter @CodyWesterlund.