SALT LAKE CITY — In the first meeting between the Chicago Bulls and Utah Jazz in early November, Matas Buzelis barely saw the floor.
The Bulls rookie logged only four minutes in a nine-point home loss. Chicago’s season was only seven games into an 82-game grind, and there was no mistaking the rail-thin Buzelis as being ready to battle seasoned pros.
Fast forward four months, and Buzelis is closing his debut season by showing how far he’s come. He made his 17th straight start in the Bulls’ 111-97 road win over the Jazz on Monday, scoring 17 points on 7-for-13 shooting to go with nine rebounds, two assists and one blocked shot in 30 minutes.
“He’s good,” Jazz star and former Bulls forward Lauri Markkanen told The Athletic. “He didn’t back down. That’s always good to see.”
Markkanen, who played his first four seasons with the Bulls, missed the November meeting between the teams because of back spasms. But after sharing the floor with Buzelis for the first time, Markkanen became the latest star to endorse Buzelis’ potential, joining Kevin Durant and the retired Carmelo Anthony.
“As a rookie, you’ve always got some work that you can do,” Markkanen said. “But I think he’s got the skill and the toughness and, obviously, the athleticism, as we’ve seen. I think he has a huge upside. And what I’ve heard from talking to his teammates, (Nikola Vučević) and those guys, is that he’s a hard worker and a great kid. I think he’s going to be good.”
Automatic.#seered | @BuzelisMatas pic.twitter.com/UsVh1y26ks
— Chicago Bulls (@chicagobulls) March 18, 2025
The Bulls are now winners of five of their last six games and currently sit in ninth place in the Eastern Conference standings. They believe Buzelis will gradually improve similarly to the way Markkanen did before he blossomed into an All-Star for the Jazz in 2022-23, his sixth season.
“I think there’s no secret to it,” Markkanen agreed. “It’s just sticking with it, putting the work in and keeping his mind right, which it seems he has the ability to do, being a smart kid. I’ll look forward to our matchups.”
Bulls coach Billy Donovan overlapped with Markkanen for one season in Chicago. If there is one thing Buzelis can learn from the version of Markkanen that Donovan inherited, it would be attention to detail.
“(Markkanen) was great with game-plan discipline,” Donovan said. “He was smart; obviously, he could really shoot it. I thought he had a good feel for how to play. With Matas, I think he’s got huge upside. I felt like Lauri had huge upside even though he’s gone to Cleveland and he’s come (to Utah), but I think he’s constantly, each year, taken a step. I think Matas can do the exact same thing. I’m not saying they’re the exact same players, but I think he can make those kinds of steps.”
To get there, however, Donovan said Buzelis must improve his instincts and focus on his awareness and recognition on the court. Donovan said he is “going to get there because he can figure that out,” but there are some technical things the staff will continue working on with the 6-foot-10 forward.
Learning nuances within the game, particularly defensively, is a key to Buzelis unlocking another level. Donovan rattled off a list of basics that may bore the casual fan but are the critical components that foster winning — navigating screens, properly executing switches and recognizing schemes.
“Any really good defensive player or really good positional defender that I’ve been around sees the action developing before it happens,” Donovan said. “When you can get to that place, it gives you a huge advantage defensively.”
Buzelis is expected to learn by studying film to pick up on opponents’ tendencies, both individual and in team concepts. But in Monday’s win, Donovan saw growth in the rookie. He battled Markkanen and competed inside against the Jazz. He relentlessly attacked the paint. Four of his seven made field goals were at the rim.
Matas delivered.@CHSN__ | @BuzelisMatas pic.twitter.com/DDBkYS12dQ
— Chicago Bulls (@chicagobulls) March 18, 2025
On another timely cut, Buzelis was stuffed on a dunk attempt by Jazz center Walker Kessler, the league’s leading shot blocker. But Buzelis never backed down throughout the game.
“He attacked the basket a lot better than he did previously against Houston,” Donovan said, referring to Saturday’s 117-114 loss to the Rockets where Buzelis finished with only 10 points on 4-of-10 shooting. “I just thought there was too much trying to extend and flip shots up (Saturday), and I thought (Monday), he went to the backboard to go finish.”
In recent days, Donovan noted how Buzelis has played lethargically in moments. With Buzelis averaging 26.5 minutes since the All-Star break — compared to 14.8 minutes before the break — Donovan once said Buzelis might be experiencing the proverbial rookie wall.
You wouldn’t know it by the way Buzelis played Monday.
“It was great to see him respond and step up the way he did,” Donovan said. “That, to me, said a lot.”
(Photo: Michael Reaves / Getty Images)
