Welcome to the roller coaster that is the Matas Buzelis experience.
Please fasten the shoulder straps and keep your hands inside the cart because it’s shaping up to be a bumpy ride.
As the Bulls rookie is finding out, even an uncomfortable ride for himself at times.
Friday against Boston it took coach Billy Donovan less than five minutes of watching his 20-year-old get completely overwhelmed in the spotlight. The defending champions, a chance to advance in the NBA Cup, trying to figure out how to deal with Boston made men Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum? The moment was too big for the 11th overall pick.
That’s why Donovan made the choice to make it a sit-and-watch night for the rookie after that first quarter.
Monday against the tanking Nets?
Now that was more Buzelis’ speed for now, and he made sure to take full advantage of it. Buzelis scored a career-high 20 points in just under 22 minutes of work, hit 4-of-5 from three, grabbed five rebounds, but most importantly, had two blocks and erased some defensive breakdowns in the paint with his 6-10 length.
The exact formula that Donovan has laid out for the rookie.
“There’s going to be these ups and downs, so I give him a lot of credit (after) the five-minute rotation against Boston,” Donovan said. “One of his great strengths? He gets disappointed, he wants to do better and it doesn’t paralyze him. I’ve seen players afraid to make mistakes and don’t do anything. He’s not that way. He came out (against the Nets) focused and earned his minutes. The work ethic, the competitiveness, all that stuff I love. I think that’s going to be huge. He’s got a really good mentality.”
To go from a benching to balling out in just a two-game stretch? Yeah, he’s got something. That starts with a will to be great.
That’s why Buzelis spent extra time watching film after the Celtics debacle, specifically on the defensive end. While a 20-point night isn’t about to be frowned upon by anybody, the development of Buzelis is about taking all these raw tools he has and harnessing them into a defined role.
That means the things he could get away with in the G League last season on the offensive end have to be left in the G League.
“He has to find an offensive game in terms of there are things he is accustomed to doing he can’t get away with up here,” Donovan reiterated. “Not so much change his game, but in particular on drives to the basket there are times he tries to Eurostep because he’s long and tall. But as strong as guys are. a lot of times on drives he gets knocked off balance. Those are things he always got away with.
“But for a young player like Matas, 6-foot-10 and athletic and a very good runner I think the athleticism in the open floor translates. I think he can evolve because he does have a skill set to do that. He’s not afraid of failure or messing up. So it’s going be a process for him.”
A process that Buzelis seems to be trying to embrace.
While he could have gushed about the 20-point night, he took a very different approach. One that only a coach could love.
“It was the defense that led to offense (Monday) for me, for my teammates, too,” Buzelis said. “We got stops and I ran out and got some dunks.
“Keep learning, keep striving, keep progressing. I think it’s gotten better every time I’ve played. I’m just trying to play free.”