Winderman’s view: Bulls played like Wednesday meant something; Heat just played

CHICAGO — Observations and other notes of interest from Wednesday night’s 119-111 loss to the Chicago Bulls:

– First the perspective: All that was at stake in this one was the presumptive right to host a play-in game.

– And even then, it was the right to host a play-in game that doesn’t even assure a playoff berth, but rather just the right to go on the road for another play-in game.

– So, sort of like playing for a playoff booby prize.

– But a prize nonetheless.

– But it still beat the alternative.

– With a loss meaning only road games in the play-in round.

– A reality the Heat now face, even after putting play-in tickets on sale.

– So, as Bulls coach Billy Donovan said pregame, you keep an eye on the prize regardless of the value of the prize.

– Which, to their credit, the Bulls did.

– Tanking on Tuesday night to be ready for this one with play-in meaning on Wednesday night.

– “It’s an advantage if you play well; it’s not an advantage if you don’t play well,” Donovan said of getting to open the play-in round at home next week. “Wherever the game is at, I certainly always want to play at home, right? I think every team is fighting for that. That’s why they have standings. In the breakdown you get home-court advantage in a seven-game series. Certainly, the same thing in the play-in.”

– Donovan added, “You want to be able to play at home, but at the same point too, if that does happen, you’ve got to play well against a good team, whoever it may be, because we’re all bunched up.”

– For now, nothing is locked in for the Heat and Bulls, although homecourt now tilts strongly — very strongly — in favor of the Bulls.

– “Probably the next couple games will shake out how this will all pan out, but you always want to have a home game,” Donovan said.

– With Andrew Wiggins back from his six-game hamstring absence, the Heat opened with a lineup of Wiggins, Bam Adebayo, Tyler Herro, Kel’el Ware and Alec Burks.

– That lineup entered 2-0.

– Davion Michell was first off the Heat bench.

– Followed by Haywood Highsmith.

– And then Kyle Anderson.

– With Duncan Robinson making it nine deep.

– With Terry Rozier and Jaime Jaquez Jr. on the outside of the mix.

– As well as Pelle Larsson, who was sidelined by an ankle sprain during his pregame lift.

– Heat coach Erik Spoelstra reiterated that a game with meaning was all you could hope for at this time of the season.

– Getting that in this one.

– “It’s all about the competition,” he said. “Any time you have games that have meaning, you have to be really appreciative.”

– He added, “These last two games and leading into the play-in, I think it’s just good for basketball.”

– Adebayo said Wednesday night’s stakes only heightened the reality of games the Heat let get away this season.

– “Like I said at the beginning of the year, when you get to the end and you look back at how many games you feel you’ve mishandled and let slip away, you start thinking about moments like this,” he said.

– Herro said that even amid the chase for seeding, quality of play trumps all.

– “That’s it right there,” he said at the morning shootaround, “just trying to continue to play at a high level and just keep things rolling.”

– Going into the postseason with confidence, Herro said, is meaningful.

– “Yeah, I mean we’ve always talked about playing our best basketball at this time of the year,” he said. “I think it’s important. Obviously you don’t want to peak too early. This is a good time for us to be playing good basketball. As the season’s coming to an end, we want to be playing good basketball.”

– Herro said he can appreciate the meaning the play-in race has added to the season’s closing days.

– “I think that’s a good thing for the league, so all the games are competitive at this point of the season. It’s almost like the play-in already starts now,” he said.