![\"Can](\"https:\/\/cdn.allcitynetwork.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2025\/02\/10170846\/TODAY.jpg.webp\")
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Rookie forward Matas Buzelis hasn\u2019t crossed the tough-love finish line.<\/p>\n
He played well on the Bulls\u2019 six-game trip and even starred in a Hollywood production with a career-high 31 points Saturday against the Lakers, but he won\u2019t be released from coach Billy Donovan\u2019s leash and have free rein to work through mistakes just yet. He didn\u2019t even play in the fourth quarter a game later in Denver.<\/p>\n
And here\u2019s the thing about Buzelis: He continues to praise Donovan for the way he\u2019s being developed, insisting that he fully understands his minutes have to be earned.<\/p>\n
Donovan obviously doesn\u2019t need the approval of a 20-year-old, but the kid\u2019s attitude is appreciated.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve had a lot of conversations, and I think one of the things he really wants is to be pushed,\u201d Donovan said. \u201cHe 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\u2019t like the truth sometimes, but he handles it really, really well, and I think that\u2019s what he wants.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s my responsibility, our staff\u2019s responsibility \u2014 and even the guys on the team \u2014 to hold him to a standard, to pull stuff out of him. Because 82 games as a young player, you\u2019re 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\u2019s a great kid.\u201d<\/p>\n
He\u2019s showing promise, as well.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
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\u2019t great \u2014 only 3.2 per game \u2014 but Donovan talked to him about staying aggressive on the boards several times, so it was addressed.<\/p>\n
This is why Donovan likes his makeup. Issues are addressed and understood quickly by Buzelis.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe wants to be good, he wants direction, he wants clarity and there\u2019s just certain things he\u2019s going to have to go through that he can\u2019t be prepared for, and he\u2019ll be better for it,\u201d Donovan said. \u201cThe 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\u2019t view it that way. They view it as a personal indictment.<\/p>\n
\u201cOne 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\u2019s able to do that. I think he\u2019s very comfortable as a person, and he wants to be a really, really good player, and there are things he\u2019s going to need help with.\u201d<\/p>\n
That\u2019s where his teammates come in.<\/p>\n
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\u2019t shrink from it.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s come a long way,\u201d center Nikola Vucevic said. \u201cOne great thing about him is he\u2019s willing to take criticism, he accepts it and he moves on. He doesn\u2019t pout, get mad. He accepts it and takes on the challenges. It\u2019s a great character to have.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Buzelis still gets that tough-love treatment despite scoring 31 points under the bright lights of Hollywood last week, but rather than push back on coach Billy Donovan, the rookie is embracing it.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":47306,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-47299","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nba"],"yoast_head":"\n