You can call it garbage time. Or you can call it an opportunity.

Shaquille Harrison isn’t really calling it either. He’s just playing hard, whenever given the chance.

“That’s who I am. That’s my identity. You’re going to see that every night, even on my worst days. You’re going to see that hard-nosed, tough guy,” Harrison said. “As a basketball player, you should play hard for yourself and also to win.”

With guards Kris Dunn and Denzel Valentine out injured, Harrison scored 10 points in the Bulls’ blowout loss Friday night in Charlotte and 13 in Monday night’s debacle against the Warriors. Signed Oct. 21 to a deal that doesn’t fully guarantee until January, Harrison said he’s “100 percent” convinced he belongs at this level.

“There’s no doubt in my mind,” Harrison said before sitting out Wednesday night’s 108-107 overtime loss to the Nuggets at the United Center. “I compare myself to a lot of guys and have stood up to them. I’m long. I’m athletic. I have great size at my position. And I think I can help teams win.”

Undrafted out of Tulsa, the 6-foot-4 guard bounced between the Suns and their G League affiliate the last two seasons before Phoenix waived him.

“The Bulls brought me here for a reason,” he said. “I don’t need to do more than what’s being displayed. Try to continue to play hard, be a leader and be a playmaker.”

Slow go: With Lauri Markkanen out of his elbow brace and Thursday marking five weeks since the Bulls issued a six- to eight-week timeline for his return, coach Fred Hoiberg fielded a question about the second-year forward’s progress.

Despite no setbacks, Hoiberg said Markkanen is still “two to four weeks” away.

“He’s getting on the track and doing some straight-ahead running. He feels good,” Hoiberg said. “He doesn’t have any pain with that. He’s still a couple of weeks away from really doing anything as far as contact is concerned. But it’s good to see him upping his activity.”

Layups: Robin Lopez honored Halloween by riding into the United Center on a bicycle with E.T. in the front bike basket, a la the Elliott character from that classic movie. … According to The Athletic, the Timberwolves declined the third-year option on Justin Patton, whom the Bulls selected for them with the 16th pick and then traded his rights in the June 2017 Jimmy Butler trade. The Bulls acquired the rights to Markkanen, along with Kris Dunn and Zach LaVine. … Hoiberg coached Nuggets guard Monte Morris in college at Iowa State. “He’s always making the right play, reliable 3-point shooter and never afraid of the big moment,” Hoiberg said.