There was life from Patrick Williams on Wednesday.
Maybe it wasn’t No. 4-overall-pick life, but it was better than the usual flat-line performance from the Bulls forward.
He went 4-for-5 from the field for a season-high 10 points and played some sturdy defense in the first half.
The Bulls didn’t really need any heroics from Williams in their 124-109 victory against the 1-4 Pacers, but it was still a needed positive.
Dissecting the emptiness of Williams’ stat lines has occurred far too often during the early part of this season, as has asking coach Billy Donovan just how long he planned to march Williams out there with the starting lineup.
Hint: Williams is pretty safe.
“I think you’re always going to evaluate what the team looks like,’’ Donovan said. “I do believe Patrick is an important part of our team. Want to help him get going.
“I think with his athleticism, his size, his strength, his ability, I just think there’s enough there for him to get himself into the game. He’s such a team guy, wants the team to do well and wants to fill his role, but there is a point, too, where it’s got to come from within him. He’s got to be the one to bring it out. I can talk to him, the assistants can talk to him, his teammates can talk to him, but ultimately I find that as guys get into the league after a period of time, it really becomes like this self-driving, motivating thing — and I don’t want to say that Patrick’s not motivated — but the aggressiveness part and what everybody has talked about, some of that has to come from within.’’
It didn’t hurt Williams’ cause that while his minutes have been cut, he did work well with the starters Wednesday, especially in his first-quarter stint.
He came out aggressively and looked for his shot, and it was contagious as the Bulls jumped all over the Pacers, outscoring them 38-27 in the first quarter.
Thanks to Donovan’s new-look bench rotation of Andre Drummond, Derrick Jones Jr., Alex Caruso and Goran Dragic with Zach LaVine, that lead was up to 24 by the second quarter. The Bulls scored 76 points in the first half.
It was the highest-scoring first half for the Bulls since they put up 81 points April 14, 2008, against the Bucks.
But as good as the Bulls’ offense looked in the ball-moving department in those first two quarters, it wasn’t sustained. You can fault the defense for that.
Indiana’s Buddy Hield shot his team back into the game. With 2:51 left in the third quarter, the Bulls’ lead was cut to four.
Then it was as if they remembered it was only the Pacers.
Thanks to Ayo Dosunmu’s aggressiveness at the rim in the last four minutes, a 10-point game once again become a laugher.
LaVine finished with a team-high 28, and all five starters scored in double figures.
It’s a strong sign that Williams will be right back with the starters Friday in San Antonio.
“I do think that with it being early in the season, taking four or five games and saying, ‘OK, we’re scrapping this,’ you never get a chance to see and maybe get enough information to make those decisions,’’ Donovan said.
“If it’s a situation where, let’s say, the first unit is struggling or we need to change rotations, I’m not opposed to doing that. I think everything should be evaluated all the time.’’
