The Chicago Bulls finally are picking up the pace.

Through the first quarter of the season, the Bulls have been the slowest team in the NBA. Their average pace of 96.61 — measured by the number of possessions in a 48-minute game — is nearly eight fewer than the Indiana Pacers, who lead the league with their up-tempo offense.

But that trend is beginning to change. The Bulls improved to a 98.85 pace in their last two wins entering Wednesday night’s game against the Charlotte Hornets at the United Center. If they played at that pace every game, they would be 22nd in the league. That still ranks in the bottom third — but it also keeps up with competitive teams like the Boston Celtics.

Even those who aren’t stats junkies probably noticed this difference. The Bulls didn’t take forever to settle into their half-court offense. They pushed the ball up the court to probe mismatches, then initiated action before the shot clock hit 15. And the result was two of the best offensive performances of the season.

What’s the main difference? Coach Billy Donovan says it’s simple.

“We’ve got to run,” Donovan said. “We’ve got to get down the floor and play with force. With the number of possessions in an NBA game — that’s a lot of running.

“And we’ve got to be able to sustain that. We’re not going to be this ultrafast team in the NBA, but we can do a better job of coming across half court with a little bit more of a thrust than we have.”

The first six or seven seconds on the shot clock is the most critical period for the Bulls to maintain their pace. During those seconds, Donovan wants the Bulls to advance the ball and dig into their half-court offense.

Failing to do so keeps the Bulls from settling into a more comfortable rhythm on offense, which often can lean into their tendency to overrely on isolated play from Zach LaVine and DeMar DeRozan.

Pushing the pace early in a possession also takes advantage of the most disorganized window for the defense, giving Bulls guards a better opportunity to identify a center posting up on a guard or an opposing big man being forced to pick up a streaking wing such as Torrey Craig.

“We’re doing a good job of pushing the ball up even in instances where it’s not like we’re kicking ahead for shots,” Alex Caruso said. “The whole point is we’re getting into stuff quicker and staying in front of the defense. Playing faster doesn’t necessarily mean shoot the ball in the first seven, eight seconds of the shot clock. But get down there and be a threat.”

Every player on the Bulls roster says he likes to play at a faster pace — even the big men.

Backup center Andre Drummond relishes taking the ball full court and will attempt to moonlight as a point guard in transition whenever given the opportunity. And starting center Nikola Vučević feels the style fits better with his approach to the post.

“It fits my game,” Vučević said. “I like to play against other big men, especially ones like Jonas (Valančiūnas) or Brook (Lopez), use my speed and get them moving side to side. We have a team that can do that. Our guards enjoy that.

“What it’s about is when you’re moving at a quick pace, it’s much harder for a defense to react and recover, especially with the space nowadays in the NBA. The freedom of movement now, the way you’re able to utilize that to your advantage is huge.”

Why were the Bulls playing so slowly until now?

Again, playing with pace is hard. It means players don’t get a moment to settle. And while the Bulls aren’t a particularly big team, their roster also isn’t outfitted like the Pacers or Sacramento Kings, who can flat-out beat anybody in a foot race.

But the Bulls do have players who are willing and able to push the ball — particularly young guards Coby White and Ayo Dosunmu, who sparked the offense in recent wins.

“The other responsibility and the sacrifice for the other four guys is that they’ve got to get down the floor too,” Donovan said. “It doesn’t really do a whole lot if Ayo and Coby are pushing the ball and we’ve got four guys behind the ball.”

Why has this pace picked up with LaVine on the sideline?

LaVine is built to play at full speed — he’s nimble in the open court and a devastating finisher at the rim when he can get opponents on the run. But when the Bulls get uncomfortable in a game, they too often allow both LaVine and DeRozan to slip into single-man scoring, which keeps the entire offense from getting involved.

If the Bulls can plug LaVine into the way they’re playing now, the offense would see an automatic boost. LaVine’s ability to slash to the rim and spray out to the 3-point arc would bolster players like White, who is on a hot streak.

Pace is the key for the Bulls to dig themselves out of a 7-14 hole. Identifying the source of their sluggishness — and stamping it out — will be the focus of the next quarter of the season.

“If I had the answer, we’d be sitting at a better record,” Vučević said. “Hopefully we’ve figured it out now and we’ve realized what needs to be done and we stick to it. That’s the only way we’re going to become a better team; otherwise, we’re going to keep struggling.”

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The good news for Chicago Cubs fans is Shohei Ohtani remained unsigned late into the second day of the MLB winter meetings.

But whether the Cubs were still among the teams in the mix for the baseball unicorn was a question President Jed Hoyer repeatedly avoided, even after a social media report claimed the Cubs were out.

Hoyer said there was no news to report and he didn’t know where the rumor came from. He declined to talk about any discussions with free agents, though manager Craig Counsell said earlier he had not talked to Ohtani.

The notion that Hoyer feels some urgency to make a splashy signing for his new $40 million manager was downplayed. Hoyer said he sold Counsell on “where the organization was going.”

“It wasn’t a referendum on ’24 necessarily,” Hoyer said. “But more where we are as a franchise, an organization at this moment in time. I don’t feel any big need to justify that. Certainly, I have no doubt over the next few years we’ll be aggressive. If that’s this year, great. If that’s in future years … I don’t feel like we have to because of that.”

Actually, there has been little action thus far, and Hoyer said many teams’ representatives were leaving town early Wednesday and blowing off the last day.

There is no rule that the first domino has to fall for things to get done, but that seems to be the way this winter will shake out.

“Sometimes the dominos fall as you think,” Hoyer said. “But if you assume they’re going to fall that way you can get yourself in a lot of trouble waiting.”

I had a flashback to the 2012 winter meetings in Nashville, when Hoyer, then general manager, said he wasn’t worried about the lack of a signing or trade to appease fans.

“If the things we did here don’t lead to progress down the road, then it wasn’t productive,” he said in ’12. “But I don’t think you have to walk out of here with deer antlers.”

That line works just as well 11 years later. There is no prize for winning the winter meetings, and so the waiting game goes on even without deer antlers being dispersed.

Los Angeles Dodgers manager Dave Roberts was less secretive about their pursuit of Ohtani, telling reporters they met with him last week for 2-3 hours. The Dodgers have been considered the favorites since Day One of free agency, while the Cubs recently moved up the list on betting sites as runner-up.

One executive not in the mix said he thought the Dodgers would reel him in when all was said and done because they would be willing to outbid the rest, and money talks. Toronto, San Francisco and the Los Angeles Angels have been rumored as the other pursuers.

Without talking about a specific player, Hoyer conceded he is reluctant to hand out long-term deals because “you’re betting on human beings with bones and ligaments and all those different things.”

But he then added: “There are times when it makes sense to do it.”

Maybe now? Or maybe not.

Meanwhile, Counsell is learning about life on the other side of the fence, managing a team that at least is mentioned in free-agent rumors after nine years in Milwaukee.

At last year’s winter meetings in San Diego, Counsell was asked about the difficulty of trying to manage in a small market without the ability to spend on the big-ticket items.

“There are good players out there that aren’t at that level financially,” he told MLB Network. “It’s our job to find them.”

Now that he’s commuting south of the Mars Cheese Castle for a team that has financial flexibility, Counsell can dream of getting one or more of those players on his 26-man roster.

“Look, the names you’re discussing are different,” Counsell said Tuesday. “There’s no question about it, and the conversations you can be involved in are different. But, I will say the different ways that different markets have to look at it is helpful to provide new ideas, and hopefully idea generation of ways to get better still.”

The Cubs don’t care to play their hand to the media, which makes sense with so many rumors being spread about their interest in so many players in trades or free agency. Some of the rumors have been laughed off by team executives, but they still feed the beast of MLB Trade Rumors and various media outlets and aggregating sites.

Isn’t there some upside in having your name out there? People are talking about the Cubs much more than they have been in recent winters. Good for the organization, but a headache for Hoyer to be asked about players he has shown no interest in.

Hoyer almost misses the old days of the winter meetings, when front office executives learned about negotiating face-to-face. The meetings have an “anachronistic nature,” he said, thanks to modern technology.

“Frankly I wasn’t even here (Monday) and I did 50 phone calls from the airport in Newark,” he said. “No one knew if I was here or not. In that regard, it’s very different. With cell phones and Zooms people don’t even know where you’re making that phone call from. The Dodgers are staying off-site.”

Hoyer still prefers the old-fashioned way, even if nothing gets done here. One executive on Tuesday recalled doing a deal on a cocktail napkin in the bar at the winter meetings years ago. But drinking and signing is not advisable with the mega deals being discussed nowadays, and GMs are much more health conscious.

The only thing that’s remained the same is the secrecy of execs hoping to outmaneuver their rivals, as we’ve seen in the Ohtani sweepstakes.

“In this case, there is real secrecy but everyone knows there’s secrecy,” Hoyer said. “There have been others that have been real secrets that no one knew about, if that makes sense.”

Hoyer kept his pursuit of Counsell top secret and shocked the baseball world last month by hiring the most expensive free-agent manager in history.

What will he do for an encore?

Don’t hand out those deer antlers just yet.

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The Minnesota Department of Health will host a virtual public hearing this month on Allina Health’s planned relocation of adolescent mental health beds from United Hospital in St. Paul to Abbott Northwestern Hospital in Minneapolis.

Allina has maintained that there will be no overall reduction in mental health services when the 10-bed unit moves across the river, a claim that has been questioned by the Minnesota Nurses Association, which held informational street picketing against the relocation and other changes in late October.

In-patient adult mental health services will continue to be provided at United Hospital, according to Allina.

The hearing will be hosted virtually by MDH’s Health Regulation Division at 6 p.m. on Dec. 21. Those who want to participate can look online for the Microsoft Teams event “Allina Health United Hospital Relocation of Services Public Hearing” or call 651-395-7448 and use the access code 933 516 723#.

The state Legislature approved legislation in June 2021 requiring a public notice and a public hearing before closure of a hospital or hospital campus, or the relocation of services or cessation in offering certain services.

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VANCOUVER, British Columbia — Before the Wild’s game Tuesday night against the Flames in Calgary, Mats Zuccarello was discussing the sweet spot on his stick with equipment manager Tony DeCosta.

Zuccarello bent the stick between the blade and shaft to explain his desired level of pliability. DeCosta nodded. He’s been the Wild’s equipment manager since the inaugural season in 2001, and knows how to keep Wild players happy and productive.

None has been as productive this season as Zuccarello, who heads into Thursday night’s game here against the Canucks as the Wild’s points leader, 6-21–27 after his assist in Minnesota’s 5-2 victory at the Saddledome. The veteran wing seems to be getting better with age, on pace for a career-high 92.6 points in an 82-game season.

When the math was presented to him after Tuesday night’s game, Zuccarello said, “It’s a little early. It can go on a cold streak whenever. I’ve been on those before.”

The circumspection isn’t surprising from a veteran of 15 seasons who turned 36 on Sept. 1. He’s seen it all, and knows how quickly fortunes can turn in the NHL. Ask him about how he’s playing and he’ll tell you it doesn’t matter if the team is losing, which was the case for most of this season.

Minnesota Wild right wing Mats Zuccarello celebrates after scoring during the second period of an NHL hockey game against the Columbus Blue Jackets, Saturday, Oct. 21, 2023, in St. Paul, Minn. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)

Now that the Wild are winning, well, the answer is essentially the same.

“You know what? I’m too old to just worry about my game,” he said. “I think we’re all playing way better as a team. We’re helping each other more as a unit, and I think it’s really fun to play like that right now.”

The Wild will bring a four-game winning streak, their first since Feb. 29-March 4, into Rogers Arena, all earned in convincing fashion and under new head coach John Hynes, perfect so far as the replacement for Dean Evason, who was fired on the heels of a seven-game losing streak (0-5-2).

At all times, Zuccarello has been one of the Wild’s best two or three players this season. His assist on Tuesday against the Flames, on a goal by longtime linemate Kirill Kaprizov, was his 600th NHL point, and extended his current points streak to 10 games.

“It’s really impressive,” said Hynes, who coached a lot of games against Zuccarello’s New York Rangers as the New Jersey Devils’ head coach from 2015-20. “You always admire him as an opposing coach, but when you get a chance to coach a guy like this, it’s something different. He’s an ultra-competitor.

“The thing I really respect about him (is) he’s really smart. He’s good to bounce ideas off of as a coach, but he’s (also) just a tenacious competitor. He’s got great skill, great head for the game, and that’s why he continues to have success. I’m excited to be able to have the opportunity to work with him.”

Playing on the last season of a three-year, $18 million deal, Zuccarello signed a two-year, $6 million extension during training camp and hasn’t disappointed, on pace to eclipse his career-high 79 points earned over 70 games with Minnesota in 2021-22. He’s a big part of a productive top line with Kaprizov and rookie center Marco Rossi.

Kaprizov scored his eighth goal Tuesday and is second to Zuccarello with 23 points. Rossi, 22, leads all NHL rookies in plus/minus with a plus-6, and ranks second to Blackhawks phenom Connor Bedard in goals (8) and points (15).

Zuccarello’s assist total, he said, is mostly a reflection of how hard his linemates work without the puck.

“His vision is really good,” Rossi said. “Some players don’t see what he sees. It’s really nice to play with him. I just try to get open.”

In four games under Hynes, Zuccarello has a goal and five assists. In those games, Minnesota has outscored its opponents 9-1 in the first period and 18-5 overall. Last year at this time, the Wild were in the middle of a 15-5-0 streak that put them back into playoff contention. Currently under .500 (9-10-4) and 11th in the Western Conference, five points out of a playoff spot, they’ll need a similar streak this year.

As veteran Marcus Foligno said, “We still have a mountain to climb.”

For now, they look capable of turning this around, but the Canucks, fourth in the West with 33 points, will be their stiffest test since a 3-2 loss to second-place Colorado on Nov. 26.

“We had really good years with Dean, of course, but Hynes came in and did some tweaking on our game, and I feel like from early this season, it’s a completely different team,” Zuccarello said. “We play real good hockey. You never like to lose guys, but it’s been a real positive change here as of now. It’s been good.”

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