Jim Boylen is the neighbor who comes out on a rainy day to announce: It’s good for the plants!

The relentlessly positive Bulls coach saw a host of good signs in his team’s 122-112 preseason loss to the Bucks on Monday. There was even a silver lining to missing 61 shots.

Here are five takeaways from the Bulls’ first preseason game.

1. The Bulls played fast.

And that’s precisely what Jim Boylen wants.

The Bulls hoisted 98 shots, 10 more than the Bucks. They forced 25 turnovers, 13 more than their opponents. That was the good stuff. The less positive stuff was that the Bulls shot 37.8% (37-for-98) and were outrebounded by the taller team 59-45.

Asked how he’ll know if his team is playing fast, Boylen said before the game: “Well, hopefully we’re tired. I want our guys to play to fatigue, and then we’ll get them out and sub. I want our guys to play their minutes with force. Not rest, not take plays off. We’ve talked about it, they know it. Play your minutes and trust the next guy coming in.”

The Bulls hit just 12 of 38 3-pointers, but both Boylen and Zach LaVine, who was 3 of 6, were happy with the number of launches.

“Thirty-eight 3s,” LaVine said, “I feel like that’s the way the league is going.”

2. The point guard battle continues.

Boylen started the incumbent Kris Dunn on Monday and got solid results — 11 points, three assists, three rebounds and three steals in 24 minutes. Dunn shot 5-for-8 and had one turnover.

Tomas Satoransky hit just 1 of 6 but grabbed seven rebounds and made five steals. Coby White, getting his first taste of NBA action, hit 3 of 10 and dished out only one assist. He did get to the line eight times, hitting five.

“I could have played better on both ends — especially with decision-making and one-on-one defense,” White said. “I have high expectations for myself.”

Boylen is a big fan of the first-round draft pick, whom the Bulls selected at No. 7.

“He looked poised, tough, physical and confident,” Boylen said. “No moment is too big for him. I thought he learned some things defensively. Guys can shoot it (in spots) where in college they couldn’t. The spacing and cutting are different. He’s going to learn a ton each night.”

3. Watching Daniel Gafford is a good time.

Daniel Gafford, the 6-foot-11 rookie from Arkansas, wowed the United Center crowd with an alley-oop slam and a second dunk minutes later.

“His energy is off the charts,” Boylen said.

Gafford had 12 points, five rebounds and committed five fouls in less than 18 minutes. He also showed great hustle with a loose-ball dive.

“I’m happy for him because I’ve been all over his butt, honestly,” Boylen said.

Gafford said he can take it: “I’ve had coaches who have been hard on me my whole life. They made me the player I am today.”

4. Denzel Valentine is alive and well.

The fourth-year pro from Michigan State missed all of last season because of reconstructive ankle surgery.

“Denzel is a winning kid and a smart basketball player,” Boylen said. “I’m just thankful he’s playing, thankful to see him out there running around. Brings a little joy after what he went through.”

Valentine missed 9 of 12 from the field but grabbed five rebounds. And here’s his most important stat — zero injuries in his return.

“I shed a tear on the way over to the arena,” he said. “It’s very emotional for me. This is my passion. This is what I love. It’s huge being healthy and being out there again.”

5. The rotation is nowhere near complete.

Jim Boylen started Dunn, LaVine, Lauri Markkanen, Otto Porter and Cristiano Felicio. Six more potential rotation players also got minutes: Satoransky, White, Gafford, Valentine, Thaddeus Young and Ryan Arcidiacono.

And two key contributors are out with injuries — Wendell Carter Jr. and Chandler Hutchison.

“Chuck Daly said it takes 25 games to learn your team,” Boylen said.

Then the coach added he hopes for a shorter learning curve.

“What you hope to learn (from the preseason) is the things you need to work on,” Boylen said. “And you hope to find out whether the things you emphasize … have you seen any become a habit. The 38 3-point attempts is good for us. The 38 free-throw attempts is good for us. We forced 24 turnovers, and we’ve been talking about hands and deflections.

“Where they exploited us was with our individual, one-on-one defense. That’s great because now the film shows what we’ve been talking about. That’s a good thing. A lot of learning moments.”