Bulls' Portis doesn't disappoint in United Center debut
If the Bulls would start playing with more consistency, a cool new tradition might kick in at the United Center.
Bobby Portis: Fan favorite.
The Bulls trailed the lowly Philadelphia 76ers by 5 points at halftime Monday night but eventually rolled up a big lead, which prompted a few “We want Portis” chants from the crowd.
The rookie forward from Arkansas had played in just three games this season, none at home, so this was his official United Center debut. Portis didn't disappoint, scoring 7 points in just more than four minutes of action as the Bulls rolled to a 115-96 victory.
Every good team should have a Brian Scalabrine on the end of the bench to keep the fans' interest during blowout wins. As the most quotable Bulls rookie since Ron Artest, Portis is capable of filling that role.
“It's something every kid dreams of — getting in an NBA game and having everyone cheering for you,” Portis said in the locker room. “I'm blessed to be in this position and be on the Bulls. It was a very overwhelming moment.”
Portis' upbeat personality already made him a favorite of his teammates, and even after a special moment in the game he had some comedy ready.
When told Jimmy Butler asked to get a plug in the interview, Portis quickly responded with, “I'm probably not going to mention him.”
A few minutes later, Butler pretended to be crushed by the slight.
“Bobby's a bad teammate because he didn't give me a shout-out in his interview,” Butler joked. “Bobby, say my name. Give me some love. My confidence is down right now.”
Even though they were playing the Sixers, who dropped to 1-25, the Bulls had plenty of encouraging moments Monday. A couple of guys got rolling offensively — Tony Snell finished with 16 points and 11 rebounds, his second career double-double, while Nikola Mirotic hit 5 of 8 shots from 3-point range for 17 points.
Butler led the Bulls with 23 points despite feeling under the weather. Derrick Rose, who took just 3 shots and scored 6 points, also was not well.
“Derrick almost did not play in the second half,” coach Fred Hoiberg said. “He's really under the weather. He and Jimmy were actually both sick out there. He was very low energy, wasn't able to eat much today. I'm glad he fought through it, hit a big shot for us to open up the second.”
The Bulls (14-8) got off to a slow start in the first quarter and trailed 56-51 at halftime. Sixers rookie and Chicago native Jahlil Okafor looked very good early, scoring 16 of his 22 points in the first half.
The Bulls picked up the pace and won the third quarter 34-12. Snell outscored Philadelphia by himself with 13 points in the third. With an sizable lead, the Bulls finally were able to turn the fourth quarter into Portis time.
“I was very happy for Bobby,” Hoiberg said. “I told our guys, 'Let's get him more opportunities like that.' I've said it all along, he will play meaningful minutes this season. There's a long season ahead. It was great to see him out there playing with some confidence tonight.”
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