Dwyane Wade staying quiet on his future with Bulls for now

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BOSTON — Dwyane Wade has shown that he doesn’t shy away from saying what’s on his mind.

A fine and benching by his own organization for speaking out in January was evidence of that.

The 35-year-old guard might want to discuss his future beyond this season, but Game 1 of the playoffs wasn’t the time.

Wade owns a $23.8 million option on his deal with the Bulls next season, and he talked freely about it Jan. 24, even insisting that if the team’s mediocrity continued, he could walk.

“It’s tough in this league because a lot of it depends on how much money you’re willing to make,’’ Wade said then. “It depends on what city you’re willing to be in. So it’s a lot of variables to that. But no question about it, what happens throughout this year as I go into my summer, I’ll definitely take a look at it. I take my career seriously, where I am, where I want to be, and I will do the same thing this summer.’’

The Bulls were 22-23 when Wade said that.

Did finishing 41-41 but making the playoffs change his mind?

“Great question,’’ Wade said Sunday. “We’ll talk about that at the end of the year. Now we focus on Boston.’’

Wade, who had 11 points and six assists in 34 minutes in Game 1, would say that he was impressed with the way his teammates battled to get into the postseason, especially with all the adversity that hit the Bulls.

“[At] some point in the season, you’re going to go through some adversity,’’ Wade said. “The one thing this team can pat itself on the back about is we have been through it already.’’

Then again, Wade pointed out that there was only one moment in his career where he felt something was not going to end well.

“The only time I can say I’ve been like that was probably down five against the Spurs in Game 6 of the [2013 Finals with the Heat],’’ Wade said. “I put my head down. I saw the yellow tape come out. That’s really not knowing what the outcome is going to be.

“You got a whole season, things can turn around.’’

Still searching

Nikola Mirotic is still looking to make an impact in an NBA playoff game.

It didn’t happen in Game 1.

The third-year player entered the series against the Celtics with 11 playoff games under his belt — all coming his rookie year. Unfortunately, there weren’t many good showings. He shot 30 percent from the field in those games and 23 percent from three-point range, scoring in double digits just twice.

Now a starter for the Bulls, Mirotic hoped that would change this postseason, but he went scoreless in the first half and finished with just four points in 19 minutes, both numbers the fewest among the starting five.

Mirotic wouldn’t concede that the pressure from the crowds and the situation was too big for him.

“I’m used to the crowds,’’ Mirotic said. “Trust me, the crowds in Europe are much better than here. I’ve played in front of 25,000 people, and they’re yelling the whole game, screaming, they get crazy. The players in Europe can tell you that.’’

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