“ I basically told him, as I took him off the floor: 'They're targeting you. You have to stand your ground, okay?' » Because as soon as he came into play on the Warriors floor, Matas Buzelis was targeted by Andrew Wiggins, with Golden State deciding to attack the Chicago rookie at the first opportunity.
The winger easily played the 11th choice of the last Draft at the position to score with the foul. “ Wiggins went after him, and it's a good learning experience because what we see a lot of now in the NBA is using starters with the second five. There are going to be duels from which he will have to learn lessons and draw inspiration. Even if it was only two or three minutes, it's precious to him “, develop your coach.
Who adds, harshly: “ He needs to understand that it can't happen like that. » In summary, the Bulls coach finds his rookie still much too tender. Billy Donovan even believes that the 20-year-old does not yet have the means to keep up the pace for 30 minutes. He has never been more than this playing time until now, and in recent weeks, he has averaged around 12 minutes.
Learn from experience
“ Instead of telling him, 'Hey, Matas, don't worry about it, keep playing, keep doing that.' These are things that many people don't consider important, but are hugely important because they make it clear to him what to do. », Demands the Chicago coach.
The coach and his rookie, author of only 3 points at 1/6 on shots against the Californians, spoke about the subject recently. “ And he felt like he really had to play. We can't take a young player and say: 'Okay, we're going to try to hide him from these different players so that he's not exposed to that.' And he had every opportunity to find himself in these situations », Continues Billy Donovan.
So many positive “situations” for the rookie experience, provided that he understands “ that this must stop. So I sent him back in the second half (against the Warriors) and I gave him another chance. »
“It’s going to be like that for him at first. Sometimes you teach a player – by giving him a bunch of minutes without responsibility – what to do and how to impact losses. He must be and we want him to be a winning player », concludes the “head coach”, who assumes his “old school” side.
| Matas Buzelis | Percentage | Rebounds | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | MJ | Min | Shots | 3pts | L.F. | Off | Def | Early | Pd | Party | Int | Bp | Ct | Pts |
| 2024-25 | CHI | 43 | 13 | 37.0 | 32.7 | 82.9 | 0.7 | 2.0 | 2.7 | 0.4 | 1.3 | 0.3 | 0.5 | 0.8 | 4.9 |
| Total | 43 | 13 | 37.0 | 32.7 | 82.9 | 0.7 | 2.0 | 2.7 | 0.4 | 1.3 | 0.3 | 0.5 | 0.8 | 4.9 | |
How to read the stats? MJ = matches played; Min = Minutes; Shots = Successful shots / Attempted shots; 3pts = 3-points / 3-points attempted; LF = free throws made / free throws attempted; Off = offensive rebound; Def=defensive rebound; Tot = Total rebounds; Pd = assists; Fte: Personal fouls; Int = Intercepts; Bp = Lost balls; Ct: Against; Pts = Points.
