Rookie forward Matas Buzelis hasn’t crossed the tough-love finish line.
He played well on the Bulls’ six-game trip and even starred in a Hollywood production with a career-high 31 points Saturday against the Lakers, but he won’t be released from coach Billy Donovan’s leash and have free rein to work through mistakes just yet. He didn’t even play in the fourth quarter a game later in Denver.
And here’s the thing about Buzelis: He continues to praise Donovan for the way he’s being developed, insisting that he fully understands his minutes have to be earned.
Donovan obviously doesn’t need the approval of a 20-year-old, but the kid’s attitude is appreciated.
“We’ve had a lot of conversations, and I think one of the things he really wants is to be pushed,” Donovan said. “He wants to be challenged. I love that as a coach. I think he wants the truth and handles the truth. A lot of times guys say they want the truth, and they don’t like the truth sometimes, but he handles it really, really well, and I think that’s what he wants.
“It’s my responsibility, our staff’s responsibility — and even the guys on the team — to hold him to a standard, to pull stuff out of him. Because 82 games as a young player, you’re not going to have it every night, but you gotta be able to find ways to ramp yourself up, and I appreciate his words. I love working with him, and I think he’s a great kid.”
He’s showing promise, as well.
Buzelis had more than flashes on the trip; he offered up some consistency. There were still matchups in which his weaknesses were exploited, and there were some blown defensive coverages, but those are dwindling.
The 11th overall pick averaged 13 points and a block and shot 49.2% from the field, including 40.6% from three-point range, on the trip. His rebounding wasn’t great — only 3.2 per game — but Donovan talked to him about staying aggressive on the boards several times, so it was addressed.
This is why Donovan likes his makeup. Issues are addressed and understood quickly by Buzelis.
“He wants to be good, he wants direction, he wants clarity and there’s just certain things he’s going to have to go through that he can’t be prepared for, and he’ll be better for it,” Donovan said. “The one thing I really admire and respect about him is I really believe he views adversity and mistakes as the only path forward to growth. I think a lot of times there are certain players that can look at the adversity and the mistakes, and they can’t view it that way. They view it as a personal indictment.
“One of the things with young players is, do you have the ability to separate what you do between the lines and who you are as a person? He’s able to do that. I think he’s very comfortable as a person, and he wants to be a really, really good player, and there are things he’s going to need help with.”
That’s where his teammates come in.
Buzelis asks questions and takes criticism the right way. The veterans have no issue with letting him know right from wrong, and they do so in the heat of the moment, and he doesn’t shrink from it.
“He’s come a long way,” center Nikola Vucevic said. “One great thing about him is he’s willing to take criticism, he accepts it and he moves on. He doesn’t pout, get mad. He accepts it and takes on the challenges. It’s a great character to have.”
