Bulls-Cavs: Five Takeaways From Thrilling Opening Night Victory

Oct 6, 2015; Chicago, IL, USA; Chicago Bulls forward Bobby Portis (5) reacts after a foul call against the Milwaukee Bucks during the second half at United Center. Mandatory Credit: Mike DiNovo-USA TODAY Sports

4. Where was Bobby Portis on Tuesday night?

It’s just one game, but one of the more curious takeaways from Tuesday’s win was the DNP for Bobby Portis. Last year’s player of the year in the Southeastern Conference had a really great summer in Las Vegas and an even better preseason. There’s only so many minutes to go around, but Portis not even checking in for a couple minutes left many a little curious.

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Portis is a rookie and still has much to learn. Plus, the Bulls finish a back-to-back set of games in Brooklyn on Wednesday, so Hoiberg could look for his first-round pick from Arkansas to produce on Wednesday night.

Here’s the front court minutes and numbers from last night:

• Pau Gasol: Two points, six blocks, 31:33 of game action
• Nikola Mirotic: 19 points, nine rebounds, 25:14 of game action
• Taj Gibson: Five points, 10 rebounds, 22:06 of game action
• Joakim Noah: No points, nine rebounds and four assists, 17:07 of game action

There’s 81 more opportunities for Hoiberg to implement Portis into the rotation to some degree, so there’s no need to freak out over his DNP-CD on Tuesday.

Next: 5. Nikola Mirotic is going to be a problem this season