Bulls forward Matas Buzelis has set lofty goals — including making an All-Defensive team and winning the Most Improved Player award — for his second season, but he’s not only interested in individual accolades and says he’s willing to do whatever is necessary for the team to be successful, according to Julia Poe of The Chicago Tribune.
“I think I can be a go-to guy,” Buzelis said. “But at the end of the day it comes down to whatever the team needs to win the games. The NBA now, it’s positionless. So whoever has a heater, whoever’s playing extremely well, that’s who we’re going to go to. It’s a team sport. If it’s my night, it’s my night. If it’s not, I’m going to have to do the dirty work and rebound, defend as hard as possible, do the little things to impact the game.”
As Joe Cowley of The Chicago Sun-Times writes, head coach Billy Donovan admits he was hard on Buzelis during his rookie campaign. Rather than be upset by being pulled from games for his mistakes, Buzelis accepted his imperfections and remained driven yet humble — an approach Donovan thinks will serve the 21-year-old well, both now and going forward.
“It’s about Matas keeping himself grounded and driven,” Donovan said. “He has not arrived. He just hasn’t. And that’s just the truth. And I love Matas and think he’s got an unbelievable runway to be an outstanding player in this league if he keeps his drive and his motivation and doesn’t think he’s arrived. The great ones are always driven, regardless of what’s going on around them.”
Joel Lorenzi of The Athletic and Drew Stevens of The Bigs Media (Twitter links) share additional quotes from Donovan looking to temper expectations for Buzelis as well as areas of growth he hopes to see from the Chicago native, who was selected 11th overall in the 2024 draft.
Here’s more on the Bulls:
- While much of the media attention has been on Buzelis lately, veteran center Nikola Vucevic was the team’s top performer in Wednesday’s season-opening win over Detroit, per Lorenzi of The Athletic, finishing with 28 points and 14 rebounds and at least temporarily putting to rest any lingering concerns about how the 35-year-old might fit as the elder statesman on a young roster.
- Poe of The Chicago Tribune shares her takeaways from Wednesday’s victory, including that No. 12 overall pick Noa Essengue was completely out of the rotation.
- In a column for The Chicago Tribune, Paul Sullivan argues the Bulls can exceed expectations, be a fun team to watch, and win around 44 games this season if they play better against their Central Division rivals, perform better at home, and “do the little things that win games.”
Saw the game in its entirety last night. Patrick Williams couldn’t pass the ball for the life of him, then he tried to dribble behind his back and it went off his left thigh. Then he still couldn’t figure out how to stop the ball (Cade) in transition and by then it was and 1.
My point is, good team win (damn it), but he is just not a professional basketball player at any means. I rather give those mins to Noa and see what he can do, Atleast he can dribble and pass which you know, is essential to becoming a basketball player, right guys?
Buzelis looks pretty good though right? Something to look forward to as a Bulls fan. At this point you know what you’re getting from Williams
I need Buzelis to be a little meaner when attacking the boards. 6 boards is decent but he needs to play with a little more physicality on the boards. Offensively he does that with his dunks, but defensively I need him to be a little more aggressive and play angry.
This isnt a nice guy league by any means.
Bird/Jordan/Kobe etc all played angry and it showed on both ends of the floor.
Love the kid though, a few years ago I had him around 3-4 range for prospects but we got luck he fell to us. Now we gotta coach him the right way and see his growth unfold before our very eyes.
Yeah I totally get what you mean. I’m a Warriors fan and want the same thing for Kuminga. It’s tougher for these young guys, but it’s a long season, I expect Buzelis will get more aggressive as he continues to get experience
Matas coming out the gate, let that man cook!
My observations from the game were:
1. Vujevic must have had about 3 Red Bulls before the game because he had a little pep in his step.
2. The Bulls REALLY need to get Ayo signed long term. Without him they don’t win that game.
3. Matas was solid and I hope his ankle is OK
4. Bulls will really miss Collins more than Coby
5. Williams is still useless
6. Dalen Terry is useless
7. Huerter needs more Playing Time
8. Donovan is bad
9. Tre Jones is a steal
10. 82-0?