Bobby Portis returns to Bulls with clean slate

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Bobby Portis’ eight-game suspension is over and the assimilation process back into the land of the living will begin Tuesday night in Toronto.

While Nikola Mirotic continues to recover from the damage Portis’ punch caused, Portis will make his season debut and seemingly everybody is curious as to what type of player will step on the floor at the Air Canada Centre.

He’s been practicing with the team through his suspension and considering his incident with Mirotic was an act of aggression, it’s understandable to wonder if he’ll try to curtail that attribute when he comes off the bench.

“He’s been the same player as far his energy is concerned,” Bulls coach Fred Hoiberg said. “Every time he steps on the floor and need a jolt of energy, he can provide that for us. He needs to continue to do those little things that have made him successful when he’s been on the floor his first couple years in the league.”

Hoiberg intimated Portis has a clean slate and the situation won’t be held against him in terms of playing time. Hoiberg was asked if he had mixed emotions personally to have Portis back while Mirotic is still weeks away from stepping on the floor—if he even wants to do so in a Bulls uniform.

“Again guys, this is something that unfortunately, it happened. There was an altercation, and Bobby served the eight-game suspension,” Hoiberg said. “It was something that was thought a lot about as far as what the punishment would be in collaboration with the league. They felt that this was the right punishment. He sat out his games and he was able to stay active and practice with us. Now we’ll put him back on the floor. And again, we welcome him back.”

Portis hasn’t developed much of an identity in terms of production in his first two years but energy is the first thing that would’ve come to mind when Portis’ name was brought up—before his incident with Mirotic days before the season tipped off.

He’ll back up Lauri Markkanen at power forward and perhaps play alongside Markkanen at center for stretches, depending on the lineups the Raptors deploy.

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The circumstances, the wait and Portis’ general fervor for the game means he’ll probably be a bag of nerves before checking in. Since the incident and subsequent suspension, he’s had to leave the arena two hours before gametime so it’s been quite awhile since Portis has been around a meaningful basketball game.

“That’s human nature coming back from an eight-game layoff, suspension,” Hoiberg said. “I’m sure there will be some nerves. There are always nerves associated with the first game of the season. The biggest way to combat that is to go play with energy and do the things that have made him a successful player.

“Keep it simple. Focus on defending and rebounding. Don’t try to do too much early in his return. I’m sure he’ll be going 100 MPH his first time out there. But just give us great energy.”

They’ll need it from somewhere, in part due to David Nwaba’s right ankle injury keeping him out two-to-four weeks, according to Hoiberg. Portis was long mentioned as a top worker during the summer, spending a lot of time in Chicago in preparation for the season.

Tuesday will be step one in the process of having his name associated with something else besides punching a teammate.

“I’m definitely anxious to see what he has to bring,” Robin Lopez said. “I know he’s been putting in a lot of work, he put in a lot of work this offseason. I know there’s been some interesting situations going on, but I think we’re all excited to have him back on the court.”

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