With six games left in the regular season, the NBA Rookie of the Year Award is out of reach for Bulls forward Matas Buzelis — unlike a lot of things, given his 6-10 wingspan.

However, through the combination of becoming a starter this past winter, then getting more shooting opportunities after veteran scorer Zach LaVine was traded to the Kings on Feb. 3, Buzelis has done enough to arguably make the All-Rookie First Team in what surely will be a close decision.

The shoo-in selections — Spurs guard Stephon Castle, Wizards forward/center Alex Sarr and Hawks guard/forward Zaccharie Risacher — have been more consistent throughout the season. But Buzelis, who dropped 31 points on the Lakers on March 22 and 28 points on the Mavericks a week later, has been the most impressive rookie the last few months.

Since LaVine was traded, Buzelis is tied for fourth in scoring among rookies with 13.1 points per game, shooting 48% from the field and 34.1% from three-point range. Since mid-March, he’s averaging 14.6 points per game, and his three-point shooting has jumped to 43.8% as he’s taking smarter shots and making better decisions overall.

“Shots are going to go in,” he said. “They’re not going to hit all the time, but the one thing you can control is how hard you play. I’m always going to do that when I’m on the court.

“I’m just reading the game when I’m out there. I’m not overthinking it. It’s a very simple game.”

That wasn’t necessarily the case early in the season, when Buzelis, the 11th overall pick of 2024, was in and out of the rotation, getting quick hooks and learning from coach Billy Donovan that his minutes are a reward and shouldn’t be expected.

“Everything for him is a first, and the one thing we’ve tried to maintain a focus on is what he can control,” Donovan said. “His intensity, his energy, his competitiveness, his toughness — those are the things he’s got to bring every day.”

For the most part, Buzelis has been doing that since the Bulls’ two-game Florida trip in early March in which the Magic and Heat tested his physicality and toughness. He cracked double digits in scoring in both of those wins, but what stood out to his teammates and Donovan was how he went toe-to-toe — mostly not budging — with frontcourt players who like to throw elbows and forearms. He has largely kept up that physical approach since, and on possessions where he hasn’t, Donovan has reminded him.

“That’s what we’re trying to hold him to because he’s very talented — no one is going to dispute that — but if he’s not going to play with a great motor, great energy, great intensity, sometimes that talent gets neutralized, quite honestly,” Donovan said.

“There’s things he’s going through for the first time, and it’s learning experiences, so you don’t want to overload him so much on offense and defense where he’s out there thinking. You want to try and keep it to a point where he knows what’s expected of him. I think when he’s fallen short of that, which we all do, he’s been great to learn from it, grow from it and try to get better from it.”