Leonard Miller is giving the Chicago Bulls every reason to find him minutes. Still, the roster they have assembled may leave little room to do it. 

The 22-year-old forward closed last season as one of Chicago’s most productive players and has carried that form into the preseason, putting in performances that are pushing their coaching staff to put him into their opening night rotation.

His rise began late last season, when Miller averaged 16.1 points and 7.9 rebounds in 31.0 minutes over his final seven games, scoring in double figures every night while shooting 40.7 percent from three-point range. That surge capped a strong two-month stretch after the Minnesota Timberwolves traded him to the Bulls in February. He finished the season with Chicago averaging 11.7 points and 5.8 rebounds in 27 games, a sharp contrast to his time with Minnesota earlier in the campaign, when he averaged 1.9 points in a mere 3.7 minutes over 49 games.

The former second-round pick has kept that momentum going this preseason. Through four games, Miller is averaging a team-high 17.5 points on 65.1 percent shooting, including 26 points on 11-of-14 shooting against the Denver Nuggets and 18 points in just over 18 minutes against the Milwaukee Bucks, in which his plus-20 was the best on the team. Head coach Tiago Splitter has used him at both power forward and center, and he was among the first reserves off the bench in Milwaukee.

However, some context tempers those numbers. The Bucks rested most of their starters in that game, and four Bulls rotation players, including centers Nicolas Claxton and Zach Collins, were out injured, which opened more minutes for the 6’10 Miller. That opportunity could carry into the regular season though, as he and Jalen Smith are likely to split time covering for Claxton until he returns.

The competition at forward is where the true logjam lies. Chicago added Caleb Wilson, the No. 4 pick, and Dailyn Swain, the No. 15 pick, this summer, joining former lottery picks Matas Buzelis and Noa Essengue. With Buzelis, Wilson and Claxton projected to start in their frontcourt once fully healthy, Miller is effectively fighting for as many backup minutes as he can.

That adds weight to every opportunity that he gets. With a new front office regime in place for the Bulls and his free agency approaching after this season, the minutes he earns now matter well beyond opening night and might even determine whether he is still in the NBA next season.

Whether or not he lands in the opening night rotation, Miller has made himself too difficult for Splitter to ignore.