It wasn’t the Jalen Suggs-poster dunk heard around the NBA world on Friday, but it was a solid runner-up.
Just a few minutes into the opening quarter against Charlotte on Saturday, Matas Buzelius back cut on rookie Kon Knueppel, caught the Nikola Vucevic bounce pass, and went immediately into attack mode on the rim and any human standing in between it.
The nasty two-handed flush quickly brought the United Center crowd to their feet and kept the Buzelis buzz alive and well.
The 112-99 loss to the Hornets, however, was also a reminder that Buzelis’ growth is not linear. There are peaks, valleys, and the whole gambit that separates the two.
Hit a huge fourth-quarter three, and then two possessions later inexplicably turn the ball over on a pass right into the hands of Collin Sexton. No one said development comes overnight.
“His body is going to continue to develop,” coach Billy Donovan said of Buzelis. “He’s going to get stronger. He may get overmatched physically (now at times). It’s not going to be this smooth, going to be a lot of ups and downs.”
A ride Donovan feels is more than worth the price of admission.
Buzelis did finish with 17 points, but was not the play-maker he was just 24 hours earlier when he finished with a career-high seven assists. Since the offseason, they’ve added ball-handling and decision-making to his plate, and call them both a work in process, as the Charlotte game was a reminder of.
“I think he’s got great ball-handling skills, really good,” Donovan said of his second-year forward. “There are times where he puts himself in harm’s way where the defense is loaded up on him, and there’s really a small crease to try and split.
“Some of that could be on me too because like most teams we’ve tried to be a paint-attack team and in certain situations and floor alignments try and be aggressive. There’s times where he needs to be aggressive away from where that split is and maybe to the outside. Where he gets into trouble sometimes in the ball-handling is when guys get under him because he’s upright and they really crowd him. But when he’s low to the ground, and I’m comfortable (with him) in pick-and-roll, I’m comfortable with him in the open floor, him bringing the ball up the floor. Instinctively he’s got good vision. He’s got a good feel of making those plays.”
Which should be the focus of a Bulls team that remains average at best, now sitting at 17-18 on the season, losing to the 12-23 Hornets twice now this year. Developing Buzelis’ all-around game should be priority No. 1.
Unfortunately, the front office seems more focused on “competitive integrity” and chasing play-in status in the Eastern Conference yet again.
The roster was cooperating on Saturday, jumping out to a 39-27 lead, only to let Charlotte get off the mat and completely take over in the second half, outscoring the Bulls 62-41 out of the halftime locker room. The visiting team shot 10-of-22 (.455%) in that time, as well as outrebounding Donovan’s crew 30-18.
Buzelis wanted the finger pointed directly at him.
“I can’t even give you an answer for that, I feel like (the lapses) just happen,” Buzelis said. “We’ve got to punch back fast and respond fast. I believe in this group for sure and it’s just something we’ve got to be better at.
“I feel like the ball got a little stagnant (in the second half) and I was a part of that. I have to trust my teammates a little more. Billy also told me that and I’ll be better at it.”
Joe Cowley
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