Fantasy Sports

The Chicago Bulls Might Have a Matas Buzelis Problem

Alan Goldsher|
Chicago Bulls forward Matas Buzelis
Chicago Bulls forward Matas Buzelis | David Banks-Imagn Images

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Chicago Bulls

The NBA Summer League is a sloppy, show-offy, video-gamey good time.

The games themselves are of the pickup variety—think Rucker League with about 26% more discipline—so slick nutmeg passes from 5’8” point guards are very much a thing.

On the minus side, thanks to the plethora of hero ball courtesy of the future two-way players populating the rosters, de-evolution into a sloppy free-for-all is also a thing.

But you know what should be a thing? Easy domination from the blue-chip second-year players whose franchise forced them to don the crappy Summer League unis with hopes of, y’know, easy domination.

Hell, even Chicago Bulls bust-o-rama Patrick Williams dominated the Summer League in his second season.

You know who didn't dominate the Summer League in his second season?

Matas Buzelis, that’s who.

Booze Didn't Cruise

Admittedly, in Chicago’s opener—a July 11 avert-your-eyes 116-72 loss to the Toronto Raptors—the second-year man threw down one of the more impressive in-game dunks we’ve seen from a Bull in forever…

…but otherwise stunk up the court, managing a decent 17 points on an indecent 4-14 shooting in 28 minutes, with a mere 5 boards to his name. Aside from the aforementioned flush, the most notable aspect of Buzelis’ game was his 7-for-7 performance from the stripe.

Taking the 10 whiffs from the floor from the equation, it wasn’t a tragic outing for the 20-year-old, but considering he was guarded by future G-Leaguers such as the legendary Jamison Battle, we should’ve seen a no-sweat double-double from the kid.

Ayo Speaks

And this all comes a couple of weeks after teammate Ayo Dosunmu insisted Buzelis is going to be not just elite, but elite-elite:

“Matas is a hard worker, a tremendous worker. He loves the work. I have high praises for him, high expectations for him. I’m seeing him in person, him getting stronger. He’s starting to realize how strong he is and how he’s able to dominate. I know Giannis [Antetokunmpo] is a Hall of Famer—top-20, top-30 player [of all time], but Matas has a chance to really dominate the game like that. I think he’s going to continue to grow gradually like that in terms of him being able to finish, rebound, him being able to just dominate the game, and that’s definitely going to show.”
Ayo Dossunmu

Since Dosunmu has shared the court, the practice floor, and the locker room with Buzelis, he can speak with authority. But since I haven’t shared the court, the practice floor, and the locker room with Buzelis, I can speak with objectivity.

And objectively speaking, the fact that he looked like a rookie who wanted some screen time rather than a second-year man who was excited to flaunt the work he did over the past four months is concerning.

You can blame rust for the wobbly performance—a legit, but barely acceptable explanation for a meh Summer League outing—but if Buzelis wasn’t ready to crush a Raptors team that didn’t field a single high-end player, that’s on him.

Fantasy Fallout

It's all but impossible to gauge fantasy hoops value based on one pre-pre-season performance, but Buzelis' gnarly shooting and soft paint presence has to give one pause.

Buzelis is at the top of Chicago's depth chart, and Bulls coach Billy Donovan will likely give him all the burn he can handle, but if the shooting doesn't improve, he becomes a fifth- or sixth-rounder who won't be of much use, as he'll only consistently help you in two categories, those being points and FT%.

See You In September

Buzelis earned a DNP-CD for Chicago’s July 12 109-92 loss to Sacramento, and there’s a fair chance we’ve seen the last of the suburban Chicago native until training camp.

But if he rolls into the real preseason with a 4-for-14 vibe—then continues the shoddy shooting into early November—the already-troubled Chicago Bulls are hosed, and those 32-win projections will be a 32-win reality.

More Chicago Bulls Hot Takes On Fantasy Sports On SI

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Alan Goldsher
ALAN GOLDSHER

Alan Goldsher has written about sports for Sports Illustrated, ESPN, Apple, Playboy, NFL.com, and NBA.com, and he’s the creator of the Chicago Sports Stuff Substack. He’s the bestselling author of 15 books, and the founder/CEO of Gold Note Records. Alan lives in Chicago, where he writes, makes music, and consumes and creates way too much Bears content. You can visit him at http://www.AlanGoldsher.com and http://x.com/AlanGoldsher.

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