Tiago Splitter wasn’t interested in turning Matas Buzelis’ reduced role into a storyline.
After the Chicago Bulls’ 132-125 win over the Milwaukee Bucks - their first victory of the season - Buzelis found himself on the bench for much of the finish. He played 17 minutes and scored 7 points while Tre Jones and Issac Okoro were the ones Splitter turned to for a spark. Josh Giddey also sat alongside Buzelis as the Bulls closed things out without most of their starters, with Caleb Wilson and Norman Powell among the exceptions who stayed in the game.
Before Friday’s home opener against the Washington Wizards, Splitter explained the move, according to Gavin Dorsey of Bulls Roundtable, and pushed back on the idea that Buzelis’ benching needed a bigger spotlight. His message was simple: the Bulls were making a basketball decision, nothing more.
“We're making this a bigger deal than we should be,” Splitter said. “It's just basketball.
You're not having a great night; you play a little bit less. Not a big deal.”
Buzelis is entering his junior season in Chicago and remains one of the team’s most important transition weapons. He can run the floor, attack off the dribble, get to the rim and stretch the defense from outside. This season, the Bulls want to see more mid-range work from him too, something he didn’t use much under Billy Donovan.
The offseason focus was on adding muscle, another step toward becoming a stronger, more complete player. And with Wilson in the lineup, Buzelis doesn’t have to carry as much of the burden to deliver every night.
Through the early part of the season, Buzelis is averaging 12.0 points and 5.5 rebounds per game.
In Other News...
Bulls Fans Got The Exact Spark They Wanted From Two Young Names
The United Center got the kind of early jolt it had been waiting for in the Bulls home opener against Washington, with two young names quickly setting the tone. Caleb Wilson and Matas Buzelis helped ignite the building in the first quarter, and the energy carried into a first half that felt like it belonged to the next wave of this roster as much as the established pieces.
Wilson, in particular, was everywhere early, piling up 17 points before halftime and doing much of his damage above the rim. With the Bulls ahead 62-57 at the time of reporting, the larger question shifted from the hot start itself to whether Chicago could keep that same burst going once the Wizards tried to settle the game down. [Read more 🡒]
Caleb Wilson Is Giving Bulls Fans A Rebuild Reason To Care
Through two games, there has already been a small but noticeable reason for Bulls fans to lean in: rookie Caleb Wilson looks like a player who fits the direction Chicago wants to go. After opening with a loss to Toronto, Wilson followed with a win over Milwaukee and put up 16 points and four rebounds in the first game before coming back with 21 points and six rebounds the next time out.
That kind of early production matters for a team trying to make its rebuild feel tangible, not theoretical. Bulls vice president of basketball operations Bryson Graham has already pointed to Wilsons growth as part of a long-term plan built around size, length, athleticism and physicality, the sort of profile Chicago wants to keep stacking as it reshapes the roster. [Read more 🡒]
Bulls Waste A Breakout Night In Home Opener Collapse
Caleb Wilson gave the United Center crowd a reason to lean forward in the Bulls home opener, especially in the early going. The rookie was active throughout the night and gave Chicago a needed jolt in transition, part of a performance that helped the Bulls pile up fastbreak points even as the game tightened against Washington.
But the swing came in the third quarter, when Chicagos early cushion slipped away and the Wizards seized control on the road. The Bulls had enough burst to stay in it late, yet the middle stretch turned what looked like a promising opener into a frustrating finish, one that left Wilsons breakout showing buried under the result. [Read more 🡒]