<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba/chicago-bulls/nba-finals-news-bulls-matas-buzelis-reacts-to-thunder-pacers-nba-finals');   ga('set', 'title', 'Bulls’ Matas Buzelis reacts to Thunder-Pacers NBA Finals');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Matas-Buzelis-Chicago-Bulls-Tyrese-Haliburton-Indiana-Pacers-Shai-Gilgeous-Alexander-Oklahoma-City-Thunder-NBA-FInals.jpg"><figcaption>CP</figcaption></figure><h1>Bulls’ Matas Buzelis reacts to Thunder-Pacers NBA Finals</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-06-15T10:31:21-07:00">June 15th, 10:31am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-06-15T10:41:01-07:00">June 15th, 10:41am</time><address><a>Tomer Azarly</a>Tomer Azarly is in his ninth season as the LA Clippers beat writer and NBA reporter for ClutchPoints. From the Lob City era to the Kawhi Leonard-James Harden era, he brings you everything you need to know about the Clippers as well as coast-to-coast coverage of the NBA.In his free time, Tomer likes to play basketball, video games, and draw.You can follow his Twitter and Instagram for all Clippers content.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Chicago Bulls</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The 2025 NBA Finals are knotted up at 2-2 heading back to Oklahoma City where the Thunder <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/oklahoma-city-thunder/thunder-news-charles-barkley-makes-bold-declaration-nba-finals-game-4">will host Game 5</a> against the Indiana Pacers. NBA Finals Correspondent Matas Buzelis of the Chicago Bulls is excited to see what Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Tyrese Haliburton do to <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/oklahoma-city-thunder/thunder-news-shai-gilgeous-alexander-nba-finals-history-not-seen-jerry-west">lead their teams</a> to the finish line.</p><p>Neither team has won back-to-back games in this series, with each team exchanging wins throughout the first four games of the series.</p><h2><b>NBA Finals Correspondent Matas Buzelis reacts to Thunder-Pacers series</b></h2><p>Every NBA Finals, the league brings on young players to act as Correspondents for the championship round. The players, usually four splitting up the first four practice and games of the series, take turns asking players questions they’re interested about while getting a feel for the big stage that is the NBA Finals.</p><p>For Game 4, the NBA brought on forward Matas Buzelis, fresh off his All-Rookie season with the Chicago Bulls.</p><p>Buzelis checked in and spoke with ClutchPoints during the series, giving his take on his new job and the series at hand.</p><p>“I think someone texted me and he’s like you’re gonna be a correspondent,” Matas Buzelis told ClutchPoints at the NBA Finals. “I’m like, ‘oh, okay! I don’t even know what that is!’ But once I got the invite, anything that the NBA invites you to, you want to participate in. If you have the opportunity, you should take it.</p><p>“I’m looking forward to asking players the questions. Also, just getting to watch a Finals game. I think there’s a lot of talent, the best teams in the world right now in Indiana and Oklahoma City. So it’s exciting. And they’re small market teams and it means a lot to the fans, so it’s pretty cool to see the atmosphere and see how hard they compete.”</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">Sat right behind Matas Buzelis last night! <a href="https://t.co/UFwyAkLjJP">pic.twitter.com/UFwyAkLjJP</a></p><p>— Andrea (@queenandi412) <a href="https://twitter.com/queenandi412/status/1933963100467945636?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 14, 2025</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><p>The Oklahoma City Thunder won 68 games during the regular season and 14 here in the postseason, making them one of the rare teams to eclipse 100 total wins in a season. Now just two games away from the franchise’s first NBA Championship, Buzelis is intrigued by the Thunder’s camaraderie and togetherness throughout their journey.</p><p>“Man, I mean it’s honestly been incredible what they do there,” the Bulls rookie told ClutchPoints of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and the Thunder. “They’re so close together as a team. They’re like all family and they all play well together. I think they all know their role. They have Shai of course who is the head of the snake, and then J-Dub [Jalen Williams] is right there, so it’s just like their team is built very organically if you know what I mean. It’s exciting to see what they can do and we’ll see if they pull it out.”</p><p>On the other end, the Indiana Pacers have had a postseason run that no one outside of the Hoosier State believed was even possible. As a Central Division rival, Buzelis and his Bulls saw a lot of Tyrese Haliburton and the Pacers throughout the NBA season.</p><p>“I knew they were tough from playing them this year,” Buzelis told ClutchPoints of the Pacers. “Their pace, the speed they play at, the physicality, the defensive intensity. Their coach, Rick Carlisle, of course is a very smart guy. They just know how to play together, as a team, and they don’t press anything. They don’t take tough shots. They’re all on the same page and it’s cool to see that.”</p><p>During NBA Finals Media Day, <a href="https://twitter.com/NBA/status/1933563765821485282">Buzelis was able to ask players</a> questions for the first time as a member of the media. It’s a role he’s definitely not ruling himself out of now that he’s been able to experience it.</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">What's the most "T.J. McConnell play" each of the Pacers has seen? </p><p>Player correspondent Matas Buzelis got to the bottom of it 😂 <a href="https://t.co/nLcTbIo2r0">https://t.co/nLcTbIo2r0</a> <a href="https://t.co/MU16lHgkaV">pic.twitter.com/MU16lHgkaV</a></p><p>— NBA (@NBA) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBA/status/1933563765821485282?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 13, 2025</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><p>“Oh, yeah, I don’t close any doors!” Buzelis added of his post-NBA playing career plans. “I’m looking for all opportunities. And, you know, whatever happens, happens. I’d definitely like to be a reporter. But you know, if there’s other jobs — maybe coaching — I’ll do that. So, we’ll see in the future.”</p><p>The 2025 NBA Finals will continue on Monday night when the Oklahoma City Thunder and Indiana Pacers play Game 5 of the championship round. The winner of Game 5 will take a 3-2 series lead and be just one win away from securing their respective franchise’s first NBA Championship.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Bulls’ Matas Buzelis reacts to Thunder-Pacers NBA Finals

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba/nba-finals-news-dyson-daniels-matas-buzelis-highlight-correspondents-for-thunder-pacers');   ga('set', 'title', 'Dyson Daniels, Matas Buzelis highlight NBA Finals correspondents for Thunder-Pacers');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Jared-McCain-Philadephia-76ers-Matas-Buzelis-Chicago-Bulls-Jaime-Jaquez-Jr.-Miami-Heat-Dyson-Daniels-Atlanta-Hawks-NBA-Finals.jpg"></figure><h1>Dyson Daniels, Matas Buzelis highlight NBA Finals correspondents for Thunder-Pacers</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-06-03T09:12:55-07:00">June 3rd, 9:12am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-06-03T10:04:46-07:00">June 3rd, 10:04am</time><address><a>Tomer Azarly</a>Tomer Azarly is in his ninth season as the LA Clippers beat writer and NBA reporter for ClutchPoints. From the Lob City era to the Kawhi Leonard-James Harden era, he brings you everything you need to know about the Clippers as well as coast-to-coast coverage of the NBA.In his free time, Tomer likes to play basketball, video games, and draw.You can follow his Twitter and Instagram for all Clippers content.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Atlanta Hawks</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The Oklahoma City Thunder and Indiana Pacers are set to face off in the 2025 NBA Finals. One of the best programs the league puts together throughout the Finals are the <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/orlando-magic/magic-news-paolo-banchero-speaks-on-nba-finals-shaq-vs-dwight-in-exclusive-interview">player correspondents</a> who get to attend and cover an NBA Finals game while getting a taste for the championship-level environment.</p><p>In the last few seasons, we’ve seen some of the leagues biggest and brightest stars like Tyrese Maxey, Donovan Mitchell, and Paolo Banchero attend the NBA Finals and experience what it’s like to be a reporter on the scene.</p><p>This year, the NBA is going with some more big names as correspondents for the Finals.</p><h2><b>Dyson Daniels, Matas Buzelis highlight NBA Finals Correspondents for Thunder-Pacers</b></h2><p>The 2025 NBA Finals will see <a href="https://twitter.com/NBA/status/1929932151924916679" rel="noopener">four rising stars</a> play the part of Correspondents for the league in the first four games of the series.</p><p>Atlanta Hawks guard Dyson Daniels, Chicago Bulls forward Matas Buzelis, Miami Heat guard/forward Jaime Jaquez Jr., and Philadelphia 76ers guard Jared McCain were the four players selected to be correspondents for the NBA Finals.</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">Introducing the NBA Player Correspondents for the <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NBAFinals?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#NBAFinals</a> presented by <a href="https://twitter.com/YouTubeTV?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@YouTubeTV</a> 🎙️</p><p>Jared McCain (Game 1), Jaime Jaquez Jr. (Game 2), Dyson Daniels (Game 3), and Matas Buzelis (Game 4) will be on the ground giving inside access from Oklahoma City and Indiana, beginning… <a href="https://t.co/caDpRWj6iK">pic.twitter.com/caDpRWj6iK</a></p><p>— NBA (@NBA) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBA/status/1929932151924916679?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 3, 2025</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><p>The Atlanta Hawks may have struggled this year, but Dyson Daniels put forth a career year en route to being named the 2024-25 Most Improved Player of the Year. Daniels was also the 2024-25 steals champ and was named to the 2024-25 All-Defensive Team.</p><p>Matas Buzelis averaging 15.8 points, 5.5 rebounds, 1.9 assists, and 1.4 blocks per game while shooting 53.5 percent from the field and 50 percent from three. The Bulls forward was named to the 2024-25 All-Rookie Team.</p><p>Miami Heat guard/forward Jaime Jaquez Jr. was named to the 2023-24 All-Rookie Team, but struggled to find a consistent role in what was a rocky season thanks to the Jimmy Butler trade request.</p><p>Sixers’ rookie Jared McCain only played 23 games this season before suffering a torn meniscus in December, officially ending his season. In those 23 games, McCain averaged 15.3 points, 2.4 rebounds, and 2.6 assists per game while shooting 46 percent from the field and 38.3 percent from three.</p><p>This year’s NBA Finals will also feature a number of players who have already participated as NBA Finals correspondents, including Myles Turner and Bennedict Mathurin of the Indiana Pacers as well as Jalen Williams of the Oklahoma City Thunder.</p><p>Turner completed his in 2016, where he interviewed Richard Jefferson and Harrison Barnes during the media availability between Games 3 and 4.</p><p>Mathurin and Williams both took part in the Nuggets-Heat NBA Finals in 2023, with Mathurin covering the first media day and Game 1 while <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/oklahoma-city-thunder/thunder-news-jalen-williams-speaks-on-rookie-season-nba-finals-kobe-bryant">Williams covered the third</a> media day and Game 3.</p><p>The full list of players who have participated includes:</p><p>– CJ McCollum<br>– Jabari Smith Jr.<br>– Amen and Ausar Thompson<br>– Keyonte George<br>– Brandin Podziemski<br>– Scottie Barnes<br>– Tyrese Maxey<br>– Donovan Mitchell<br>– Deandre Ayton<br>– Jaren Jackson Jr.<br>– Paolo Banchero<br>– Walker Kessler</p><p>Game 1 of the NBA Finals between the Thunder and Pacers is set to tip off on Thursday night at 8:30PM EST.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Dyson Daniels, Matas Buzelis highlight NBA Finals correspondents for Thunder-Pacers

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba/chicago-bulls/bulls-news-matas-buzelis-instant-mood-after-all-rookie-honor');   ga('set', 'title', 'Matas Buzelis’ instant ‘mood’ after All-Rookie honor');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Matas-Buzelis.jpg"><figcaption>© David Banks-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><h1>Matas Buzelis’ instant ‘mood’ after All-Rookie honor</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-05-20T14:00:10-07:00">May 20th, 2:00pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-05-20T14:00:10-07:00">May 20th, 2:00pm</time><address><a>Scotty White</a>Scotty White is a graduate of the University of Michigan and has been in the sports journalism industry since 2020. He has covered athletics at the University of Michigan and is now serving as an Associate Editor, Chicago Bulls beat writer, and Michigan football reporter at ClutchPoints.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Chicago Bulls</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Chicago Bulls rookie <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/chicago-bulls/bulls-news-billy-donovan-applauds-matas-buzelis-mindset-first-career-double-double">Matas Buzelis had a big first season in the NBA</a>, and his high level of play earned him an impressive honor on Tuesday. The NBA released it’s All-Rookie teams, and Buzelis was selected to the Second Team. Buzelis was joined by Kel’el Ware, Yves Missi, Donovan Clingan and Bub Carrington.</p><p>“The NBA announced today that Chicago Bulls forward Matas Buzelis has been named to the 2024-25 NBA All-Rookie Second Team,” the Bulls said in a press release. “Buzelis is the 26th Bulls player to receive All-Rookie honors, the most by any NBA franchise.”</p><p>Matas Buzelis took to Instagram to celebrate this tremendous honor. He <a href="https://x.com/BN_Bulls/status/1924916684684451855" rel="noopener">shared a video</a> of Lonzo Ball screaming “I feel like I’m on top of the world,” when he found out that he made the NBA All-Rookie Second Team.</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">Matas Buzelis’ story after making All-Rookie Second Team has me 💀💀</p><p>(matasbuzelis | IG) <a href="https://t.co/RnGkizV4KO">pic.twitter.com/RnGkizV4KO</a></p><p>— Bleacher Nation Bulls (@BN_Bulls) <a href="https://twitter.com/BN_Bulls/status/1924916684684451855?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 20, 2025</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><p>The Bulls selected Matas Buzelis with the 11th overall pick in the 2024 NBA Draft, and that pick worked out well for them as Buzelis was a major contributor in year one. It took a little bit of time for Buzelis to earn a starting role, but he did end up in the starting lineup in 31 out of the 80 games that he played in this past season.</p><p>Buzelis finished the year averaging 8.6 points per game, 3.5 rebounds per game and 1.0 assists per game. He shot 45.4% from the floor and 36.1% from three.</p><p>Matas Buzelis showed a ton of promise during his rookie season, and the Bulls have to be feeling good about the trajectory that he is on. He was an all-around player this past season that improved in a lot of different ways, and he got better as the season went on. Once he started earning consistent starts, his numbers increased a lot, so if he gets the same amount of minutes next season for the whole year, we should see a good leap in year two.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Matas Buzelis’ instant ‘mood’ after All-Rookie honor

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba/chicago-bulls/bulls-news-billy-donovan-applauds-matas-buzelis-mindset-first-career-double-double');   ga('set', 'title', 'Bulls’ Billy Donovan applauds Matas Buzelis’ mindset after first career double-double');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/Matas-Buzelis.jpg"><figcaption>© Matt Marton-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><h1>Bulls’ Billy Donovan applauds Matas Buzelis’ mindset after first career double-double</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-04-04T20:03:31-07:00">April 4th, 8:03pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-04-04T20:03:31-07:00">April 4th, 8:03pm</time><address><a>Scotty White</a>Scotty White is a graduate of the University of Michigan and has been in the sports journalism industry since 2020. He has covered athletics at the University of Michigan and is now serving as an Associate Editor, Chicago Bulls beat writer, and Michigan football reporter at ClutchPoints.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Chicago Bulls</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>CHICAGO- The <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/betting/trail-blazers-vs-bulls-prediction-odds-pick-spread-4-4-2025">Chicago Bulls picked up a big win at home on Friday night over the Portland Trail Blazers</a>, and Chicago is now back in ninth place in the Eastern Conference. Rookie Matas Buzelis picked a great game for his first career double-double as a late three helped lift the Bulls to a <a href="https://www.espn.com/nba/recap/_/gameId/401705688" rel="noopener">118-113 win</a>, and it put him in double figures to secure the first-time feat. Buzelis finished with 12 points and 12 rebounds.</p><p>Matas Buzelis airballed a three-pointer late in the fourth quarter, but he still had the confidence to shoot the next one. The next one just so happened to give the Bulls a five-point lead with under two minutes to go. Not a lot of rookies would’ve been able to attempt such a big shot just one minute after a horrid miss, but Buzelis is different.</p><p>“After the airball, you could tell, he was upset. He’s not really afraid of the moment,” Bulls head coach Billy Donovan told the media after the game. “Whatever he did to course-correct there, give himself an opportunity to make that one, and he did, but he’s always kind of leaned into stuff. A lot of young players think that sometimes mistakes are not part of the growth and development piece.”</p><p>Mistakes are just part of the game at this stage of Buzelis’ career. He knows that they are unavoidable, and he doesn’t shy away from them.</p><p>“… It doesn’t distract him, it doesn’t discourage him, it doesn’t get him down,” Donovan continued. “He has a really good mindset about, ‘That’s how I have to get better. I gotta be able to go through this, and then I have to be able to learn from it.’ I give him credit for, one, taking the one he missed, but then also taking the next one. I think that showed great toughness for him, and the belief that our team has in him, the fact that they threw it to him again.”</p><p>Every game down the stretch is big for the <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/chicago-bulls/chicago-bulls-dream-nightmare-seeding-matchup-scenarios-2025-nba-playoffs">Bulls as they battle for seeding</a> in the Eastern Conference. They are currently tied with the Miami Heat, but the Bulls own the tiebreaker. The difference between ninth and 10th place is a big one as home-court advantage is on the line. <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/chicago-bulls/bulls-news-coby-white-blessed-take-chicago-clinching-play-in-spot">These last five regular season games for the Bulls are huge</a>.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Bulls’ Billy Donovan applauds Matas Buzelis’ mindset after first career double-double

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba/chicago-bulls/bulls-news-matas-buzelis-best-player-ever-message-billy-donovan-career-game');   ga('set', 'title', 'Bulls’ Matas Buzelis reveals ‘best player ever’ message to Billy Donovan after career game');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Bulls-news-Matas-Buzelis-reveals-best-player-ever-message-to-Billy-Donovan-after-career-game.jpg"></figure><h1>Bulls’ Matas Buzelis reveals ‘best player ever’ message to Billy Donovan after career game</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-03-23T12:05:16-07:00">March 23rd, 12:05pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-03-23T12:52:34-07:00">March 23rd, 12:52pm</time><address><a>Derek Hryn</a>Derek Hryn is an Associate Editor at ClutchPoints specializing in NFL and NCAA Football coverage. Derek was previously a fantasy football expert at DK and SB Nation, and he has been featured at FanSided, USA Today, NBC Sports, The New York Post, and others.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Chicago Bulls</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The Chicago Bulls defeated the <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/los-angeles-lakers/lakers-news-jj-redick-blasts-worst-defense-146-points-bulls">Los Angeles Lakers 146-115 on Saturday</a>, with Matas Buzelis recording 31 points on 5-of-10 shooting from three.</p><p>The No. 11 pick of the 2024 NBA Draft has <a href="https://x.com/KCJHoop/status/1903681998641877100" rel="noopener">bigger goals</a> than what was expected from him in his rookie campaign, per K.C. Johnson of Chicago Sports Network.</p><p>“I told Billy (Donovan) that I want to be pushed to the limit. I want to be the best player ever. That’s just how I think. He has done a great job holding me accountable. And I thank him. When he takes me out for a mistake, I get better”</p><p>Buzelis is averaging 7.7 points on 44.1 percent shooting and 3.1 rebounds, as Chicago attempts to make a run in the second half of the NBA regular season at 31-40 and ninth in the Eastern Conference.</p><h2><b>Matas Buzelis’ takes first season to another level in Bulls win</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Matas-Buzelis.jpg"><figcaption>Matt Marton-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>The 20-year-old forward has scored at a bit of a streaky pace over the last five appearances. Following two consecutive five-point outings, Buzelis’ potential was finally put on display against the greatest player in the world.</p><p>Buzelis discussed <a href="https://heavy.com/sports/nba/chicago-bulls/buzelis-honest-lakers-james-historic-career-donovan/" rel="noopener">his matchup</a> with <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/los-angeles-lakers/lakers-news-lebron-james-destiny-take-31-point-loss-bulls">Lakers star forward LeBron James</a>, per Heavy.com.</p><p>“I think it was good,” <a href="https://x.com/CHSN_Bulls/status/1903687137033166967" rel="noopener external">Buzelis told reporters</a> on March 23. “Honestly, he didn’t really shoot much against me. I think he shot one time against me, in the mid-range. So I’d say it was a good job.  But he’s a great player, so he’s gonna get, what he’s gonna get.”</p><p>Donovan and the Bulls are working through a rebuild, with Buzelis at the forefront of the plan. Coby White and Josh Giddey are also playing great basketball, suddenly looking like a team that could make some noise in the postseason. While they will likely have to dig themselves out of the play-in tournament at this rate, the Bulls are no longer a doormat in the East.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Bulls’ Matas Buzelis reveals ‘best player ever’ message to Billy Donovan after career game

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba/phoenix-suns/suns-news-kevin-durant-shares-honest-assessment-bulls-matas-buzelis');   ga('set', 'title', 'Kevin Durant shares honest assessment of Bulls’ Matas Buzelis');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/Suns-news-Kevin-Durant-shares-honest-assessment-of-Bulls-Matas-Buzelis.jpg"></figure><h1>Kevin Durant shares honest assessment of Bulls’ Matas Buzelis</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-02-22T20:22:26-08:00">February 22nd, 8:22pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-02-22T20:22:26-08:00">February 22nd, 8:22pm</time><address><a>Scotty White</a>Scotty White is a graduate of the University of Michigan and has been in the sports journalism industry since 2020. He has covered athletics at the University of Michigan and is now serving as an Associate Editor, Chicago Bulls beat writer, and Michigan football reporter at ClutchPoints.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Chicago Bulls</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Chicago Bulls rookie Matas Buzelis continues to come into form as he had another nice game on <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/betting/suns-vs-bulls-prediction-odds-pick-spread-2-22-2025">Saturday night against the Phoenix Suns</a>. Buzelis finished the game with 15 points on 5-10 shooting. He went 3-7 from deep and added three rebounds and one assist. Unfortunately, it wasn’t enough to get the Bulls a much-needed win at home. The Suns won the game 121-117.</p><p>The Bulls have now lost six games in a row and 10 of their last 13. One bright spot during this skid, however, has been Matas Buzelis. It didn’t happen instantly, but Buzelis has found a way to be a consistent impact player in year one. Suns star Kevin Durant <a href="https://x.com/KCJHoop/status/1893469674420969731" rel="noopener">is impressed</a>.</p><p>“I like Matas,” Kevin Durant said, according to a post from K.C. Johnson. “I liked him when he was with G League Ignite. He’s long, athletic, can shoot it. He’s definitely going to have some bumps and bruises as he gets through his first few years in the league trying to figure things out.”</p><p>Durant has already seen a lot of good things from Buzelis, and he knows that the youngster will only get better as time goes on.</p><p>“But the more experience, the more reps he gets as a starter the better he’ll become,” he continued. “Billy’s [Donovan] giving him more opportunities. Just play. I hear (Donovan) on the sidelines, ‘Attack. Shoot the ball. Be aggressive.’ His teammates encourage him. Playing will make you a better player.”</p><p>Buzelis has been working his way into the starting lineup recently, and he has looked good. He is now averaging 15 minutes per game and 6.3 points per game. Buzelis is also averaging 2.9 rebounds per game and 0.6 assists per game.</p><p>The <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/bulls-news-matas-buzelis-injury-replacement-nba-all-star-weekend">Bulls have gotten good play from Buzelis</a> as of late, but they haven’t been winning games. After the loss, Chicago fell to 22-35 on the year. They remain in 10th place in the Eastern Conference.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Kevin Durant shares honest assessment of Bulls’ Matas Buzelis

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/bulls-news-matas-buzelis-injury-replacement-nba-all-star-weekend');   ga('set', 'title', 'Bulls’ Matas Buzelis named late injury replacement for All-Star Weekend');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/Bulls-news-Matas-Buzelis-named-late-injury-replacement-for-All-Star-Weekend.jpg"></figure><h1>Bulls’ Matas Buzelis named late injury replacement for All-Star Weekend</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-02-14T08:45:23-08:00">February 14th, 8:45am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-02-14T08:45:23-08:00">February 14th, 8:45am</time><address><a>Brett Siegel</a>Brett Siegel joined ClutchPoints as a credentialed NBA insider and reporter in May 2023 after previously covering the NBA for Fastbreak on FanNation and NBA Analysis Network, as well as working with Louisville Basketball. From playing to coaching to covering the game as a media member, Brett has been involved with the game of basketball from many different perspectives. Breaking the news of various free agent signings, yearly NBA Draft news and other key stories around the league, Brett is always on the phone, getting the latest news and rumors around the NBA. Be sure to follow him on Twitter @BrettSiegelNBA.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Chicago Bulls</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Chicago Bulls rookie forward <a href="https://x.com/NBAPR/status/1890431141837967725" rel="noopener">Matas Buzelis is replacing</a> New Orleans Pelicans rookie center Yves Missi in the 2025 Castrol Rising Stars, which will take place on Friday night at Chase Center in San Francisco.</p><p>The Rising Stars at NBA All-Star Weekend is a four-team, three-game mini-tournament with a lot on the line this year.</p><p>Since the <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/warriors-buyout-market-2025-nba-all-star-predictions-siegels-scoop">NBA All-Star Game has been altered</a> from its traditional East versus West format to a four-team mini-tournament style like this showcase for the younger talents in the league, the winner of the Rising Stars Challenge will be the fourth team to participate in the actual All-Star Game on Sunday night.</p><p>Buzelis, who will be <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/all-star-saturday-watch-skills-challenge-3-point-contest-slam-dunk-contest">participating in the Slam Dunk Contest at All-Star Weekend</a> on Saturday night, will now get a chance to prove that he has what it takes to be considered one of the league’s better young talents in the Rising Stars. The Bulls rookie will replace Missi on Team M, led by NBA Hall of Famer Mitch Richmond.</p><p>Missi is unable to play in this event due to a right knee injury.</p><p>After being selected 11th overall in the 2024 NBA Draft and expected to step into a key role on the wing for the Bulls this season, Buzelis was not given much opportunity to play early on in the year. However, Buzelis’ role has increased since the start of 2025, and he is now a steady player in Billy Donovan’s nightly rotations since Zach LaVine was dealt ahead of the trade deadline.</p><p>Over his last eight games, Buzelis has averaged 14.1 points, 3.4 rebounds, and 1.3 blocks per game while shooting 59.7 percent from the floor and 42.4 percent from three-point range. The rookie has scored in double figures in each of these eight games after having only three such games prior.</p><p>Buzelis will be busy during NBA All-Star Weekend, especially since his focus is on the dunk contest. Although he may not be the favorite, <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/bulls-news-matas-buzelis-bold-6-word-declaration-ahead-nba-dunk-contest">Buzelis’ goal is to win the event</a> and let everyone know that he is the real deal.</p><p>In previous years, the dunk contest has helped young, athletic players get the attention they deserve. After all, this is what happened with LaVine and Aaron Gordon during their historic dunk battles.</p><p>Should he be able to win the event, this could be exactly what Buzelis needs to capture the spotlight and create a sense of hope in Chicago during what looks to be a time of rebuilding.</p><p>Buzelis now has two chances to prove his worth after being invited as an injury replacement for the Rising Stars on Friday night.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Bulls’ Matas Buzelis named late injury replacement for All-Star Weekend

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/bulls-news-matas-buzelis-bold-6-word-declaration-ahead-nba-dunk-contest');   ga('set', 'title', 'Matas Buzelis makes bold 6-word declaration ahead of NBA Dunk Contest');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/Bulls-news-Matas-Buzelis-makes-bold-6-word-declaration-ahead-of-NBA-Dunk-Contest.jpg"></figure><h1>Matas Buzelis makes bold 6-word declaration ahead of NBA Dunk Contest</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-02-10T20:31:37-08:00">February 10th, 8:31pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-02-10T20:31:37-08:00">February 10th, 8:31pm</time><address><a>Scotty White</a>Scotty White is a graduate of the University of Michigan and has been in the sports journalism industry since 2020. He has covered athletics at the University of Michigan and is now serving as an Associate Editor, Chicago Bulls beat writer, and Michigan football reporter at ClutchPoints.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Chicago Bulls</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Chicago Bulls rookie Matas Buzelis recently found his way into the starting lineup, and he is starting to find his stride in the NBA. The basketball world had high expectations for Buzelis coming into this season, and as we approach the All-Star break, he is starting to live up to those expectations. Speaking of the All-Star break, <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/bulls-news-bulls-rookie-commits-2025-nba-slam-dunk-contest">Buzelis will be making the trip to San Francisco</a> as he will be participating in the dunk contest.</p><p>There will be four players participating in the NBA dunk contest this year as Matas Buzelis will be going up against Mac McClung, Stephon Castle and Andre Jackson Jr. McClung has won the last two dunk contests, but Buzelis isn’t going to San Francisco to lose. He <a href="https://x.com/KCJHoop/status/1889037132427358689" rel="noopener">wants to take down the champ</a>.</p><p>“I’m not going there to lose,” Buzelis said, according to a post from K.C. Johnson.</p><p>Buzelis has had some emphatic dunks this year, but Mac McClung will not be going down without a fight. He doesn’t even play in the NBA, but his hops and his ability to dunk the basketball are unreal. If someone that isn’t in the league gets invited and continues to win the contest, you know they are impressive.</p><p>This season got off to a slow start for Buzelis, but he is starting to find a groove with the Bulls. He wasn’t getting a ton of minutes early on and it was obviously hard for him to find a lot of consistency when he wasn’t playing very much. However, that is starting to change.</p><p>Buzelis has recently seen a big increase in minutes, and he is taking full advantage of his opportunity. He was typically getting around 10-15 minutes per game, but a couple weeks ago, Buzelis started to see the floor for 20-30 minutes, and that has been going on for the past seven games. In those games, Buzelis is averaging over 14 points per game. He has been in double figures in each of his last six games.</p><p>In one recent game, Buzelis had one of the most impressive performances that we have seen all season as he finished 10-10 from the field for 24 points in a win against the Miami Heat. <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/bulls-news-matas-buzelis-pulls-off-bonkers-chicago-scoring-feat-not-even-michael-jordan-achieved">Buzelis did not miss</a>. That is rare.</p><p>Bulls fans are very excited about the future with Matas Buzelis, and he has showing why during this recent stretch. With how he’s playing, he should continue to see a lot of playing time, and he will be a key player down the stretch for the Bulls.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Matas Buzelis makes bold 6-word declaration ahead of NBA Dunk Contest

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/bulls-news-matas-buzelis-pulls-off-bonkers-chicago-scoring-feat-not-even-michael-jordan-achieved');   ga('set', 'title', 'Matas Buzelis pulls off bonkers Bulls scoring feat not even Michael Jordan achieved');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/Bulls-news-Matas-Buzelis-pulls-off-bonkers-Chicago-scoring-feat-not-even-Michael-Jordan-achieved.jpg"></figure><h1>Matas Buzelis pulls off bonkers Bulls scoring feat not even Michael Jordan achieved</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-02-04T21:19:03-08:00">February 4th, 9:19pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-02-04T21:19:03-08:00">February 4th, 9:19pm</time><address><a href="https://letterboxd.com/splooshpuhrty/films/by/your-rating/">Jedd Pagaduan</a>Jedd Pagaduan is a certified Clippers and Gunners fan, which means he's a very sports-traumatized individual. He now writes about sports instead as a form of therapy.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Chicago Bulls</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The Chicago Bulls are slowly but surely committing to a youth movement especially in the aftermath of the <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/bulls-trade-grade-for-zach-lavine-blockbuster">trade that sent away Zach LaVine to the Sacramento Kings</a>. And it looks as though there is a bright future ahead for the Bulls, if the play of Matas Buzelis, their 2024 first-round selection, on Tuesday night is any indication. Buzelis turned some heads by putting up 24 points during the Bulls’ 133-124 win over the Miami Heat.</p><p>Not only did the 20-year-old score a career-high in points for his brief NBA career, he was also as efficient as it can get from the field. He made all 10 of his field-goal attempts, with four of those coming from beyond the arc. The <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/bulls-news-billy-donovan-brutally-honest-matas-buzelis-decreased-playing-time">Bulls rookie is making some excellent strides</a> on the offensive side of the ball, and in so doing, managed to set a franchise record.</p><p>According to NBA Fantasy on X (formerly known as Twitter), Buzelis <a href="https://x.com/NBAFantasy/status/1886982354658324778" rel="noopener">became the first rookie</a> in Bulls franchise history to score 20 or more points on 100 percent shooting from the field. Many talented rookies have suited up for the Bulls throughout the course of their history, with the likes of Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen, and Derrick Rose, among others, plying their trade in the Windy City, but none of those players managed to accomplish the feat Buzelis notched.</p><h2><b>The Bulls finally settling on a direction?</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Bulls-rookie-Matas-Buzelis-dunking-the-ball.jpg"><figcaption>Matt Marton-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>Over the past few seasons, there is a bit of confusion regarding the Bulls’ roster direction. As a result, they’ve been treading water, hovering around .500 and not achieving much. But with Zach LaVine having been traded, it should now be clear to fans at least that they are now prioritizing the development of their young players.</p><p>Bulls fans should be very excited that, at the very least, the team appears to be building a nice young core that will be supplemented by the talented blue-chip prospect that they’ll be drafting with their first-round pick later this June. Matas Buzelis should be given a bigger role moving forward, and performances like the one he had on Tuesday should only increase the confidence Billy Donovan and company have in him — especially if his personal confidence is <a href="https://x.com/DarnellMayberry/status/1886985143769804854" rel="noopener">going through the roof as well</a>.</p><p>“My confidence right now is high, of course. But I’ve got to stay humble. My dad always tells me, ‘The sun comes up tomorrow so you’ve got to go back to work,'” Buzelis said, per Darnell Mayberry of The Athletic.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Matas Buzelis pulls off bonkers Bulls scoring feat not even Michael Jordan achieved

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/bulls-news-billy-donovan-brutally-honest-matas-buzelis-decreased-playing-time');   ga('set', 'title', 'Billy Donovan gets brutally honest on Matas Buzelis’ decreased playing time');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Bulls-news-Billy-Donovan-gets-brutally-honest-on-Matas-Buzelis-decreased-playing-time.jpg"></figure><h1>Billy Donovan gets brutally honest on Matas Buzelis’ decreased playing time</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-01-25T19:45:49-08:00">January 25th, 7:45pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-01-25T19:45:49-08:00">January 25th, 7:45pm</time><address><a>Scotty White</a>Scotty White is a graduate of the University of Michigan and has been in the sports journalism industry since 2020. He has covered athletics at the University of Michigan and is now serving as an Associate Editor, Chicago Bulls beat writer, and Michigan football reporter at ClutchPoints.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Chicago Bulls</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>When the Chicago Bulls drafted Matas Buzelis ahead of the 2024-25 season, a lot of people thought that the young star could be a sneaky pick for Rookie of the Year. Now, we are almost into February, and we haven’t seen Buzelis blossom into the player that people were expecting. It’s obviously still incredibly early in his career, but it’s been an underwhelming rookie season.</p><p>So far <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/bulls-news-bulls-rookie-commits-2025-nba-slam-dunk-contest">this season, Matas Buzelis</a> is averaging 4.9 points per game in just under 13 minutes per game. Bulls fans have been wondering why he isn’t getting more playing time, and head coach Billy Donovan <a href="https://x.com/byjuliapoe/status/1883297502587445328" rel="noopener">addressed the situation</a> on Saturday. Donovan referenced their recent game against the Golden State Warriors and how Buzelis was instantly targeted when he came into the game.</p><p>“I basically told him coming off the floor — ‘They are going directly at you. You’re gonna have to make a stance here, yeah?’ think that’s a great growth thing. Instead of saying, ‘Hey, Matas, don’t worry about it, just keep playing man, keep doing it.’ Those are things there that a lot of people may not see as being valuable, but they’re incredibly valuable because it creates clarity for him about what he knows he needs to do,” Donovan said, according to a post from Julia Poe. “And he and I spoke about it today, you know? And he felt that he’s got to be a player. We can’t take a young player and say, ‘Okay, we’re just going to try to hide him on these different players so he doesn’t have to be exposed to that.’ And he had every opportunity to be in those situations.”</p><p>Billy Donovan wants to put Matas Buzelis in those kinds of situations, and he believes that they will eventually ready him for a bigger role.</p><p>“Those situations are good for him,” Donovan continued. “But he’s got to understand too — listen, that’s got to stop. So I put him right back in the second half (against Golden State) and gave him another shot again. But that’s what it’s going to be like for him a little bit, you know? And I’ve said this before, I just am not a believer, l’ve never seen it happen. Because I think what happens is sometimes you just teach a player — by just giving them a bunch of minutes with no responsibility — what they should do and how to impact losing. He needs to be and we want him to be a winning player.”</p><p>Matas Buzelis has had a quiet rookie season, but Donovan hasn’t lost any confidence in his lottery pick despite his lack of playing time. Donovan wants to make sure that he does everything right as he gets Buzelis ready to be a key player for the Bulls.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

2024-25 SEASON STATS
PTS	REB	AST	BLK	STL
8.6	3.5	1.0	0.9	0.4

2024-25 SEASON STATS
PTS	REB	AST	BLK	STL
8.6	3.5	1.0	0.9	0.4

Matas Buzelis news

Matas
Buzelis news