Before the season began Bobby Portis made headlines for all the wrong reasons. His seven-game suspension for punching Nikola Mirotic in the face during a preseason practice stuck with him well into the regular season. Lauri Markkanen's emergence then captured headlines, and Mirotic's return in December coincided with a seven-game winning streak. Portis became somewhat of the forgotten man as far as the crowded power forward position was concerned.
Mirotic continued his hot shooting and eventually improved his stock enough for the Bulls to deal him to the Boogie-less Pelicans for a first-round pick. Markkanen struggled in November and December, turned in a red-hot January (.