Matas Buzelis on Bulls’ last season under Billy Donovan “Last year was extremely hard. There was no type of rhythm. We didn’t know who was playing. We didn’t know how we were gonna play. Now, there’s gonna be more structure. Everyone’s in a role. You know what you’re going to get every night”
Chicago Bulls forward Matas Buzelis reflected on the difficulties of last season as the team continues its preseason preparations.
Buzelis admitted last season was extremely challenging both individually and collectively, pointing to a lack of rhythm, clearly defined roles, and overall uncertainty under former head coach Billy Donovan.
Buzelis points to lack of structure under Billy Donovan “Sometimes, you have to go through stuff in your life to notice that you want better. Last year was extremely hard. There was no type of rhythm. We didn’t know who was playing. We didn’t know how we were gonna play,” said Buzelis while speaking with the media on Tuesday, via Joel Lorenzi
Buzelis believes that now, with new head coach Tiago Splitter, there’s more structure and everyone knows their role and what to expect every night—something that will definitely help the Bulls achieve more this season.
“Now, there’s gonna be more structure. Everyone’s in a role. You know what you’re going to get every night,” he said.
“Everything can’t come to you at once. It was hard for me,” Buzelis added. “I speak to a lot of smart, intelligent people, and they tell me that everything comes with time.”
“I know this team is capable of a lot of things, and I know we can get to where we want to get to. It’s a process, but all of us are working extremely hard to try to achieve our goals.”
The soon-to-be 22-year-old forward had an impressive season with the Bulls last year, almost doubling his stats across the board compared to his rookie year.
He averaged 16.3 points, 5.8 rebounds, 2.1 assists, and 1.5 blocks in around 29 minutes per game on 46.3% shooting from the field and 34.9% from three-point range.
Now, as he enters his third season in the league, Buzelis stands as one of the projected leaders of this young Bulls team, looking to take another big step forward in his career.