After Chicago Bulls power Forward Bobby Portis served his eight-game suspension for punching teammate Nikola Mirotic in the face, he compared the time away from basketball to a dream being taken away from him.

According to reporter K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune, Portis has worked extremely hard in 13 games off the bench since his return from the suspension.

“I feel I’ve been playing well,” Portis said Tuesday. “I’ve been rebounding well, playing defense better than I have before. I’m taking great shots, so I’m not forcing anything on the offensive end. Trying to be a great player.”

Portis continues to see a very noticeable increase in a few statistical categories this season compared to others, as the No. 22 overall pick in the 2015 NBA Draft is currently averaging 12 points, 6.9 rebounds and 1.8 assists per game in just 22.4 minutes of action per contest.

Coach Hoiberg acknowledged that he believes the situation with Portis and Mirotic is a thing of the past.

Bobby Portis and Nikola Mirotic
Chris Sweda/Chicago Tribune

“Niko’s in great spirits,” Hoiberg said over the weekend. “He and Bobby have had their moments together since he’s been back on the practice court. They’ve practiced with each other on the same team, and they’ve also gone against each other. I do think that’s behind us now. The important thing is just concentrating and focusing on basketball.”

Although Mirotic will not play in Wednesday night's game against the Indiana Pacers, coach Hoiberg said that he may get some action on Friday against the Charlotte Hornets.

“He’s had some training-camp-type soreness to where he has some tightness in his lower back, soreness in his hamstrings. But he is feeling better,” Hoiberg said. “Hopefully he has a good day of practice (Thursday) and we can throw him out there for a short stint at least (Friday) against Charlotte and get the process started.”

Time will tell how exactly Hoiberg manages both Portis and Mirotic's minutes going forward, but its clear progress has been made between the two players.