Can Bulls find playing time for Portis?

Associated PressWith Bulls center Joakim Noah expected to return to the lineup, the team's frontcourt gets more crowded for rookie Bobby Portis to share playing time.

Denver Nuggets guard Will Barton, left, gets tangled up with Chicago Bulls forward Bobby Portis while pursuing the ball in the second half of an NBA preseason basketball game Thursday, Oct. 8, 2015, in Boulder, Colo. Denver won 112-94.

The Bulls expect to have Joakim Noah and Taj Gibson back in the lineup for Wednesday's preseason game against Detroit at the United Center.

Noah skipped the last two games after taking a hard fall against Denver last week, while Gibson has yet to play in preseason as he recovers from ankle surgery in June.

As the Bulls get closer to full strength, a problem arises. One of their best players in preseason has been rookie Bobby Portis, who happens to play the crowded power forward spot.

Portis ranks third in the NBA in rebounding during preseason with 12.3 per game. He led the Bulls with 20 points in Monday's 123-115 loss to New Orleans.

"Surprised? No. I prepared myself for this situation. I prepared myself to be a good NBA player someday," Portis said after Tuesday's practice. "I always stayed composed, stayed level headed. It's not being surprised, it's being ready for your moment. When coach puts me out there, the only thing to do is play hard."

A good comparison for Portis' preseason play might be LaMarcus Aldridge, who puts more effort into rebounding. Portis is good at that faceup jumper, sometimes extending all the way to the 3-point line. He hit 8-of-12 shots against the Pelicans, including 2-for-2 from behind the arc.

Portis has earned some playing time, but how will he get it? The Bulls can mix up their big men, but Noah, Gibson, Pau Gasol and Nikola Mirotic already stand in front of him on the depth chart.

"He is making it hard, there's no doubt about it," coach Fred Hoiberg said of Portis. "I've said since Day One that my biggest job is going to be to figure out a rotation and try to get everybody to buy into roles.

"It's going to be tough. A lot of guys deserve to play. Taj and Jo had very good practices today. Bobby was good again. Obviously, we know what Niko and Pau can do. We have a lot of people we can throw out there."

There are a couple potential solutions. One is to play Mirotic at small forward, something he was able to do with success last season. Another is to take a page from San Antonio's playbook and give some of the older starters planned rest. If Gasol, Noah and Gibson skip five games each during the regular season, that opens 15 chances for Portis to play heavy minutes, in addition to whatever injuries pop up during the 82-game grind.

Portis was asked Tuesday how he would deal with limited playing time when the regular season arrives.

"Of course it'll be tough, but that's all players," he said. "I feel like all great players have to go though adversity to go somewhere. If I want to be a great player it'll happen to me someday. Everything isn't peaches and cream. You can't come in and be LeBron or KD. I just have to be myself. I can't worry about minutes, can't worry about playing. I can just take it a day at a time."

In the meantime, Portis is using preseason as good preparation for battle. He's quickly become a fan favorite at the United Center for his hustle and he took on a trash-talking Kevin Garnett when the Bulls played Minnesota last Saturday.

At first, Portis said he couldn't repeat anything Garnett told him because it was too explicit. He finally edited one line for a family audience.

"He was talking about, 'Grown man business right here, boy. I'm 40 and you're 20,'" Portis said with a smile.

"I loved it. That kind of taught me some good things I can do. I might put that in my game and talk a little trash. I like that. I think he kind of did that just to fire himself up and get his teammates going off."

Based on preseason so far, Portis might be ready for some for some of that grown-man business on opening night.

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