Bobby Portis made his season debut for the Chicago Bulls last night, delivering 21 points in 24 minutes off the bench in a 119-114 road loss to the Toronto Raptors. Portis was back with the team after serving his eight-game suspension for having punched teammate Nikola Mirotic at a practice before the season began.
* Recap: Raptors 119, Bulls 114
While Portis is back in the lineup, the Bulls have been faced with how to reintegrate him into the lineup while also showing compassion to the still-recovering (and away-from-the-team) Mirotic. After last night’s loss, Portis was asked about his relationship with Mirotic, his season debut and more, all of which Nick Friedell of ESPN.com details below:
Chicago Bulls power forward Bobby Portis said he still hasn’t spoken to teammate Nikola Mirotic after the two got into an altercation in practice on Oct. 17 that left Mirotic with a concussion and several facial fractures.
Portis was suspended eight games for punching Mirotic and made his season debut Tuesday night in a 119-114 loss to the Toronto Raptors.
“No, I haven’t talked to Niko,” Portis said before the game.
In his first public comments after the fight last month, Portis said he texted and called Mirotic but did not hear back from him. On Tuesday, Portis noted that he has not tried to reach out to Mirotic since.
“I just let bygones be bygones with that,” Portis said before the game. “I can’t control that. Only thing I can control is myself at this point. I’m not worried about who goes, who stays. Only thing I’m worried about is coming in trying to play at the highest level possible. I’m living my dream right now. This is my dream. I’ve always wanted to play in the NBA. I’m here, and that’s all I want to do at this point.”
As far as other aspects about Mirotic, Friedell reports, Portis was more or less tuning them out — whether it was on-court comments from fans or off-court media chatter:
Portis didn’t seem concerned with recent reports that Mirotic’s representatives have made it clear to the Bulls that Mirotic isn’t interested in sharing the floor with Portis again in Chicago.
“I’m just here to play basketball,” Portis said before Tuesday’s game. “I can’t control who goes. I go, he goes, I don’t control that. Only thing I can control is me coming in to work every day, working hard, being the same kid that I’ve always been. If I can continue to do that, then that’s all I can really control.”
Another thing Portis can’t control is the public criticism that has followed him since the incident. He heard jeers from the Toronto crowd Tuesday, but tried to stay focused on the task at hand.
“I heard some things but I’m a mentally strong guy,” Portis said. “That doesn’t affect me. I’ve been hearing my eyes are big for so long that that’s not going to affect me. I’ve been hearing that since I was a little baby. I don’t really care. I love the crazy eyes.”
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