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Chicago Bulls: Bobby Portis’ stock continues to rise

By James D. Tillman III

NEW ORLEANS, LA - OCTOBER 03: Anthony Davis #23 of the New Orleans Pelicans drives against Bobby Portis #5 of the Chicago Bulls during a preseason game at the Smoothie King Center on October 3, 2017 in New Orleans, Louisiana. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Jonathan Bachman/Getty Images)
NEW ORLEANS, LA - OCTOBER 03: Anthony Davis #23 of the New Orleans Pelicans drives against Bobby Portis #5 of the Chicago Bulls during a preseason game at the Smoothie King Center on October 3, 2017 in New Orleans, Louisiana. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Jonathan Bachman/Getty Images) /
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Chicago Bulls forward Bobby Portis has played well since returning from an eight-game suspension.

It has been nearly a month since a preseason altercation took place between Chicago Bulls forwards Bobby Portis and Nikola Mirotic. On one side of the equation, Mirotic has started doing some light shooting as well as working out, both of which are positives.

The caveat here is Mirotic has not made any effort to communicate with Portis. Furthermore, it doesn’t appear that Mirotic has softened his stance on not wanting to be in the same locker room with Portis.

To be perfectly honest, it will more than likely require a little divine intervention for that to happen.

Meanwhile, Portis not only seems to have the backing of his teammates, he has also played at a high level since returning from a team-issued, eight-game suspension. In his season debut against the Toronto Raptors on Nov. 7, Portis paced Chicago’s attack with 21 points and pulled down a game-high 13 rebounds on 8-for-13 shooting from the field.

Not known for being much a perimeter threat, Portis also converted three of his five attempts from beyond the arc.

Unfortunately, Portis’ effort — which included 14 points in the final frame — wasn’t enough to keep the Bulls from dropping their second meeting against the Raptors this season.

A few nights later, in a losing effort against the Indiana Pacers, Portis messed around and recorded yet another double-double, scoring 20 points and pulling down 11 boards.

For the second game in as many nights, Portis was the Bulls’ leading scorer and led all players in rebounds. Not too shabby for the guy who was limited to just practice sessions through the first two weeks of the season.

Portis continued his solid play against the San Antonio Spurs a few nights later. In that contest, he scored 17 points to go along with six rebounds and two assists. While the Bulls rarely showed any signs of life during this demoralizing 133-94 loss, Portis was one of the few bright spots in what proved to be a one-sided contest — despite the fact the Spurs were missing six players.

Taking into consideration this is probably the best three-game stretch of Portis’ young career, it would be reasonable to be somewhat surprised by how well he has played since returning to the court…to everyone except him, that is.

"“I don’t know why anybody is surprised. I’ve always went hard my whole life,” Portis told NBC Sports Chicago. “I’ve always tried to bring my best effort. If anything, I’m gonna play hard. Me scoring 20 points is probably not gonna be a regular thing but at the same time I know my role on this team. Bring energy and effort every day. If the shots are there I’ll take them.”"

To date, Portis averages include 19.3 points and 10 rebounds per contest on 49 percent shooting overall and 50 percent from 3-point range.

Next: 2017-18 Week 5 NBA Power Rankings

As he stated, it wouldn’t be wise to expect him to score 20 points on a nightly basis, but his production off the bench has been just what the Bulls needed in what has been a very eventful start to their season.

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