Matas Buzelis has embraced the physicality and gritty style of play demanded by the Bulls and head coach Billy Donovan, writes Joe Cowley for the Chicago Sun-Times. The transformation began in the offseason, when Buzelis added 10 pounds of muscle in preparation for stepping into a starring role for Chicago.
“I said before the season started that this would be a great year of growth for him because he’s going to see things he hasn’t seen his rookie season,” Donovan said. “The thing I love about Matas is he leans into it and he’s eager to improve.”
The second-year forward has raised his averages is nearly every meaningful category so far in his second NBA season. He’s currently contributing 14.1 points, 5.6 rebounds, and 1.4 blocks in 27.8 minutes per game, and he’s embracing the increased focus that comes from his newfound status on the team.
“Most of the time the best defender is guarding me and that puts a target on my back,” Buzelis said. “I like that, that’s how I’m going to get better and stride forward.”
We have more from the Bulls:
- After being selected 12th overall in the 2025 draft, Noa Essengue finally made his NBA debut in the Bulls’ 16th game of the season. The patience he displayed in waiting for his chance to take the floor extended to his first stint on the floor, according to Julia Poe of the Chicago Tribune, who notes that a single missed field goal represented Essengue’s only contribution to the box score in four minutes of action. Still, he wasn’t discouraged by the outing or by the time it took to get there. “It was nice to get on the court with my teammates since I’ve worked two or three months now,” Essengue said. “I just enjoyed it. I know I don’t got a lot of time so I just tried to enjoy every moment.” Even that brief appearance provided Donovan with some insights to take away. “I’d like to see him get his motor going a little bit more,” the Bulls’ coach said, “but I was happy I could throw him in there for a few minutes.”
- Donovan hinted that Jalen Smith will likely be in the rotation even when Zach Collins returns from wrist surgery, reports Joel Lorenzi of The Athletic, who says (via Twitter) that Donovan compared it to how the Spurs and Cavaliers use their big men. “We may have to look at two bigs together some, or playing three bigs rotationally,” Donovan said. “I think we gotta find what’s best to play all three.” Smith has performed well for the 9-7 Bulls, averaging 10.1 points and 5.9 rebounds in just 16.4 minutes per night while shooting 37.1% from three.
- The Bulls came out of Saturday’s game against the Wizards with a one-point win, but Nikola Vucevic was unimpressed by the team’s mentality, writes Lorenzi for The Athletic. “For three quarters, we were very soft,” Vucevic said. “We gave no resistance. We didn’t do anything that we talked about. Just played really soft. It was really bad… I don’t think we understand that it’s just not sustainable to play this way.” Buzelis, whose celebration of the victory irked Vucevic during a post-game interview (Twitter video link), conceded his teammate’s point when he spoke to reporters a little later. “He believes that we should beat that team by a lot more, and I totally agree with him,” Buzelis said. “He has every right to be upset. We have to be better, for sure.”
Bulls should let Essengue play. He can’t be any worse on defense than the rest of them. Billy Donovan- I can’t understand why everybody gets hurt! Might be because you like guys who are outweighed and have a serious height disadvantage because you think you’re still in College. Maybe roll it around in your tiny little brain. Maybe drop a dime and call Alex Caruso for his thoughts about it.
Nah, Essengue is going to come very slowly with Donovan. AK double down with the Essengue pick with extension of Donovan. It shows that Essengue will be a project and they trust Donovan to get him acclimated to game play and physicality. I personally would want him in the G league for half the season, similar to Buzelis and then see what he can do for the rest of the year. Goal isnt to win a title this year. It’s to show who is the next nucleus of Bulls players for fans to get behind. Nothing is wrong with how they are bringing him up.
But man DQ would solve a lot of our problems if we had taken him lmao. Saw him since last November at Maryland, legit hooper and exactly what we needed and still need. Ugh.
If you and I can see it how is it the morons who run the team can’t? At least they should have taken the deal that Queen brought from the Pelicans. If they wanted a project they should have traded back. It’s not like there aren’t enough of them in the NBA draft. That lottery pick would look great next year paired with their own and maybe Portlands huh?
Mike, it’s because we as fans are stupid according to the owner and we don’t know any better for the team. :-)
Who in the league had Donovan actually developed into a good player?
He was terrible in OKC, carried by the stars.
Maybe he can claim Coby White and that is it.
Not a Donovan fan. He’s a college coach to me. Seriously what has he done here. Rebuilding for third time now. Hoping 19 yr olds will save him. When ?? Three years from now. They weren’t even sure about Giddey. Now they aren’t sure about Coby. Brandon Miller is a better prospect than Buzelis. Yet at 23 yrs old and in his third year. He still has not shown the consistency of a starter. Donovan is building a team for his next contract lol.
Bulls blew it on Queen. But do have some nice pieces. I just don’t see who they are committed to.