March 21--Bobby Portis has been freed.
This development has been as much by circumstance as by design.
While the affable first-round pick clearly proved he could play during preseason, even humorously embracing the #FreeBobbyPortis social media movement, he fell behind proven veterans Pau Gasol, Joakim Noah and Taj Gibson and anointed starter Nikola Mirotic on the depth chart.
Noah has been in street clothes since January. That's about the same time, after a strong start, Portis hit the so-called rookie wall. Defensively, he often landed out of position and into foul trouble. Offensively, he looked as if he were being paid by the shot.
But February proved to be Portis' best month statistically. And Portis has turned in two straight active, engaged efforts on this critical four-game homestand that continues Monday against the Kings.
"The rookie wall stops in January," Portis said. "Once February hits, it's a new season."
Similar to how he refers to himself in third person, Portis has the endearing ability to deliver such comments without sounding cocky, just confident. Maybe it's his folksy, Arkansas charm or his yes-sir, no-sir manner of speech.
Whatever the case, it helps that Portis turns into a snarly, no-nonsense blur of activity on the court and brings a hard-hat mentality to practice.
"Bobby came in and had one of the greatest little spurts I've ever seen from a rookie playing on a veteran team and playing for something," Gibson said. "He came out hot. But in the NBA, you have to adjust. Once everybody gets the radar on you, you're not going to get the same looks. You have to keep building.
"He just kept working in the gym, putting more into it. He always comes in on days off. He guards me in practice. I try to push him as much as I can. The thing I love about this kid is he doesn't shy away from the contact or the trash talk. He keeps taking them head on. And it shows in practices and the games."
Portis insists he would have the same attitude even if he remained the fifth big man on the depth chart.
"I'm a team-first guy," he said. "Of course I want to play, but I want to win. That's who I am.
"I've never not played at a high level. But it was a great experience for me to go through not playing. It was mental gymnastics. I had to go in after the game and go work out and things like that. But I tried to stay levelheaded, talk to my mom, best friends, teammates and coaches. I feel that adversity made me a better player."
Portis consistently has cited Noah and Gibson as instrumental in his development. But there's another behind-the-scenes influence who has helped as well.
Assistant coach Pete Myers, who starred at Portis' hometown Arkansas-Little Rock a decade before Portis was born, has taken the rookie under his wing.
"He has kept me levelheaded to the utmost," Portis said. "He has really embraced me. He's like a father figure to me. He calls and we don't just talk about basketball. That's big for me."
But not too big that Portis can't quickly, and laughingly, drop another third-person reference when asked if he or the Alabama-born Myers is a bigger deal in Little Rock.
"Bobby Portis is probably the most famous guy out of Little Rock," he said, knowing another mentor, Corliss Williamson, is from nearby Russellville, Ark.
It's hard to understate how much the All-Star break meant to Portis. He referenced it multiple times in an interview, catching up with family and friends.
Now, with first-year averages of 7.2 points and 5.3 rebounds in 17.7 minutes, he's looking forward again.
"I've always looked toward the summer and what I need to work on for next season," Portis said. "There's a lot I need to tune up so I can come back a better player. I'm really looking forward to it."
kcjohnson@tribpub.com
