Bulls coach Billy Donovan knew before the game Friday against the Nets that rookie Matas Buzelis wouldn’t play.

The film showed Donovan all he needed to see about the personnel matchups, and it was obvious to him that it wasn’t the game for him to use Buzelis.

‘‘They were a little bit smaller, more athletic, quicker,’’ Donovan said of the Nets. ‘‘We had been playing two forwards together [in previous games], and sometimes it was Matas and Patrick [Williams]. But I just didn’t love that lineup there.’’

That’s why he opted to use Talen Horton-Tucker in Buzelis’ rotation spot, giving him another guard and ballhandler against a defense that has shown a willingness to apply pressure after made baskets. That isn’t among Buzelis’ strong suits yet.

On Saturday, the Bulls announced Buzelis would head to the G League’s Windy City Bulls to get in some practice time.

Was it a coincidence that Buzelis, the 11th overall pick in the draft in June, didn’t play Friday and was sent to the G League a day later? Yes. But it was a good decision either way.

This is about Buzelis getting practice reps, and with the way the schedule was last week, the Bulls couldn’t accommodate that. Since Oct. 27, the Bulls have had only one practice and three shootarounds.

This week doesn’t play out much better, with a practice Sunday, a game Monday, a practice Tuesday, then three games in four nights with no practices scheduled. Nonetheless, the Bulls called Buzelis back up before their game Monday against the Jazz anyway.

Windy City was convenient for a few practices because the team doesn’t open its season until Friday but basically has been going through a preseason camp almost daily.

Buzelis, 20, needed the extra work. He was getting a quick stint in the rotation in the first half in the opening handful of games, but he didn’t exactly do much to stand out. His best showing came in the Bulls’ victory against the Bucks, in which he scored a basket, handed out two assists and had a steal in nine minutes.

He scored three points in the Bulls’ loss to the Thunder a night later, but that game was all but over in the second half, with the Thunder dominating from the tipoff.

But to think of this as a negative for Buzelis would be incorrect. This has been the plan for him since the start of the season, with the Bulls frequently using Windy City as a practice-reps option for their young players. Julian Phillips and Dalen Terry have spent time with the Bulls’ G League affiliate in the last few seasons, and Buzelis is no different.

Donovan has said several times that a major thing Buzelis needs for his development is to find an identity about where he fits. He’s no different from most players in his underwhelming draft class.

It’s not as though the 2024 class has changed the game so far. The leading scorer among rookies is the Grizzlies’ Jaylen Wells, who was selected in the second round.

Among those drafted before Buzelis, No. 2 pick Alexandre Sarr probably has made the biggest impact with 9.8 points and 6.2 rebounds per game with the Wizards. Again, though, there’s very little separation.

The good news for Buzelis is that while minutes with the Bulls might be hard to find right now, it might not be that way for long. If executive vice president of basketball operations Arturas Karnisovas has his way, the trade market will change by February and he will be able to deal a couple of players.