Nine passes.

That’s what it took on one third-quarter possession before Justin Holiday finally hit a jumper in the 125-104 loss to Toronto at the United Center Friday night.

And Bulls coach Fred Hoiberg loved every single one of them.

“This team has to have movement,’’ Hoiberg said, when asked about how this team has to play now that the preseason has ended. “It’s the way this roster is built. We don’t have a lot of isolation, blow-by-your-man, finish-at-the-basket type players with this team. Last year’s group was different.

“This offense wouldn’t have fit last year’s group the same way that it does this team. We have to read and make the right plays based on what the defense is doing. We’ve got counter and pressure releases, and we have to read and react and make the right play.’’

Really the type of basketball that Hoiberg has wanted to play since leaving Iowa State for the Bulls three seasons ago, but couldn’t.

He inherited the likes of Derrick Rose, Joakim Noah and Jimmy Butler back in the 2015-16 season – all ball-dominant players. And then last year he had to keep the “Three Alphas’’ happy, as Butler, Dwyane Wade and Rajon Rondo each wanted to dominate the ball.

No longer.

The new-look Bulls finished the preseason 3-3, and even in the losses the improved ball movement was very noticeable.

“I’ve been really happy with the commitment of these guys to go play for each other,’’ Hoiberg said. “They’ve really bought into playing with pace and movement. And the unselfishness is something we’ve loved to see. Execution at times has suffered. Pace and movement have to be the constants.’’

Holiday won’t argue that.

Like he has throughout the preseason, Holiday remained the biggest beneficiary of Hoiberg’s style of play, scoring 17 points against the Raptors. In the six preseason games, a seven-point performance in Dallas was the only game in which Holiday didn’t register double-digits.

“This is the way we have to play,’’ Holiday said. “The times we got stagnant and don’t have much going on we don’t score. We move the ball and move our bodies and continue to shoot the ball confidently we’re going to be OK.’’

They don’t have much of a choice.

The end of the Raptors game also meant the end of the camp. The wins and losses count come Thursday, as the Bulls travel to Toronto for the start of the regular season.

They do so relatively healthy, but also early into the offensive playbook, and still working through a ton of kinks on defense.

“I think we really competed,’’ Hoiberg said of the camp. “It was a fun camp to be around these guys. We went out and had some really, really good moments in this preseason. Now it’s about going out, it’s game week. Obviously camp is over.

“The biggest thing I saw out of our camp was the dedication every day of coming in and working hard. I did think that carried over into our games. We had a couple really poor quarters. You know Dallas fourth quarter was a disaster, and [Friday against Toronto] they put it on us. It had nothing to do with work ethic. Our guys have been awesome as far as coming in prepared, ready to go every day and leaving everything out there on the floor. That’s all we can ask of these guys.’’

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