Nikola Mirotic and Bobby Portis coming to blows during a preseason practice could have been a death blow to the rebuilding Chicago Bulls before the 2017-18 campaign even got underway.
Thankfully, the two forwards have left that altercation behind, and in response, Chicago finds itself on a surprising hot streak, winning nine of its last 11 games since Mirotic returned from his injuries sustained in the brawl.
"I think it was huge," Mirotic told ESPN's Nick Friedell on Wednesday of how he and Portis have been able to coexist. "I think it was huge because people didn't know how we were going to act because it was a tough moment obviously for all of us, especially for me. But I think we've handled it well. We've tried to be professional.
"That was really important for the guys because we kind of tried to stick together. And being back was a great (thing) for me, for my teammates. Right now, we are all looking forward for Zach LaVine to be back, and we could be complete again. I think we're going to be in really good shape."
Mirotic and Portis don't communicate much away from the hardwood, if at all, according to Friedell. Hashing out their differences for the betterment of the team didn't mean they had to become bosom buddies.
While the possibility remains the Bulls move one of the two before February's trade deadline, it's clear now their short-terms goals have changed. Chicago is six games out of a playoff spot with a 12-22 record, but optimism remains high, and the players are feeling good about their chances moving forward.
"We feel proud of ourselves because coming from the difficult stretch we had before and now being capable to win nine (out of) 11, it's huge for us," added Mirotic. "We are not the worst team everybody was talking (about). Everybody kind of felt like people were wishing us to be the worst team. I don't know the reason, but we knew that our time would come.
"We were practicing very hard. I was injured for 23 games, but now we are back, and you can see people excited again about us. The guys are having a lot of fun. You can see the bench yelling all the time, jumping, and it's been fun playing so far now, but there is a lot of room where we can improve as a team. I think we are doing so far so good now."
Mirotic is currently averaging career highs in points (17.2), rebounds (7.6), and minutes played (25.5), while shooting a sizzling 47.5 percent from 3-point range.
