Bobby Portis Might Be the Most Underrated Player in the NBA

Right now, Bobby Portis is mostly known as the guy who hospitalized his teammate, and just recently added to his reputation by seriously injuring Tomas Satoransky in a recent game against the Wizards. Although, he was clearly going after the ball, the result of the Satoransky injury was enough to earn him a flagrant 2. It is not unreasonable to think that the reputation he's building for himself will lead officials to have a hard time giving him the benefit of the doubt in these situations.

When you glance at Portis's 2017-18 stats, although they aren't terrible, they don't exactly impress the casual fan either. However, when you take a closer look at the stats sheet, you realize how high his ceiling actually is. The main thing that needs to be taken into consideration here is how many minutes he is playing. At the time of this writing, Portis is averaging just 12.2 points and 6.5 rebounds per game, but he is doing that with less than 21 minutes per game.

When you look at his per-36 minute stats, the numbers are much more impressive:
21 points and 11.1 rebounds per 36 minutes.

There are some things to consider when looking at per-36 minute stats, but when you account for them, you can get a general idea of the kinds of numbers a player might put up in a starter role. There are always exceptions, so this is more of a guideline than a rule. The first thing to consider is that that most starters play slightly less than 36 minutes per game but there are a fair number of players (like Lebron James) who play more than 36 minutes. The second thing to consider is that if they are placed in a starter role, they will generally have to face tougher opponents. I believe that this second point is slightly exaggerated by analysts that don't like to look at per-36 numbers.

Another thing that needs to be considered is that Portis hasn't played less than 21 minutes on average because he can't contribute. It has been due to the fact that he plays the same position as Markkanen and Mirotic, who have been phenomenal players this year. The recent Mirotic trade opens up new opportunities for Portis. There is a reason why the Bulls organization chose Portis over Mirotic as well. Keep that in mind.

With all of that considered, It's not unreasonable to think that next year, after working on his game even more, if he were to start, that he could put up somewhere around 18-19 points and 9-10 rebounds per game. On top of this, while Portis isn't an elite defender like his teammate Kris Dunn, he's not exactly a bad defender either. If you pay attention to the way he plays, it's clear that he is not a selfish player either. He consistently passes when he should, sets good screens for his teammates, and always seems to do what he should be doing.

The question is, does he actually have a chance of starting in the near future? I think he does. Clearly, Zach Lavine, Kris Dunn, and Lauri Markkanen will be starting for the foreseeable future, and they are the trio that the team is being built around. The 3 and 5 positions appear to be the only positions that the Bulls need to focus on filling. While Portis usually plays the 4 behind Markkanen, he has shown that he can clearly play the 5. While the trade deadline has officially passed and Robin Lopez's contract doesn't expire until 2019, it doesn't seem likely that Lopez will be a major part of the Bulls' future plans. A future Bulls starting lineup comprised of Kris Dunn, Zach Lavine, Lauri Markkanen, Bobby Portis, and another player from free agency, trade, or the expected lottery pick from the next draft could seriously shake up the league in the not-so-distant future.

Portis has proven to be a very tough, smart, and underappreciated player. He can be as good as he chooses to be. Your ball, BP.