The Chicago Bulls mixed things up in their third game of the preseason on Monday as they took their final tune-up road trip to face the Bucks in Milwaukee.
Coach Billy Donovan sat four of the team’s five starters, resting Zach LaVine, Patrick Williams and Nikola Vučević while also holding out Coby White (groin), Ayo Dosunmu (shoulder) and Jalen Smith (knee) due to minor injuries incurred in training camp. Guard Josh Giddey was the only typical starter who remained in the opening lineup.
Lonzo Ball was also unavailable on Monday, although he is expected to make his preseason debut at home against the Minnesota Timberwolves on Wednesday — his first NBA game in 1,006 days.
The rotation game allowed the Bulls to deal out hefty minutes to young players like Matas Buzelis while also testing training camp signings like Kenny Lofton Jr., Chris Duarte and E.J. Liddell as they jockey for the final spot available on the roster.
Here are five things we learned from the 111-107 loss:
1. Matas Buzelis shows some flash — including a dunk on Giannis Antetokounmpo.
The Bulls already know that rookie Matas Buzelis wants to dunk on anyone who will stand in his path to the basket. On Monday, that person was two-time MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo, who Buzelis leaped past to throw down his opening dunk of the game — earning an and-one foul on the way.
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Antetokounmpo picked up a flagrant foul when Buzelis attempted another dunk in his vicinity in the second quarter. Buzelis struggled to match Antetokounmpo on the other end of the court, but his willingness to attack such a dominant defender at the rim reflected the fearlessness that makes the Bulls confident in the rookie’s ability to contribute in his debut season.
Buzelis also flexed some range in his shooting — going 3-for-9 from behind the arc to finish with 15 points — but shot only 38.5% from the field.
2. Adama Sanogo and Onuralp Bitim get a look in the starting lineup.
With the majority of the starting lineup on the bench, Donovan started second-year two-way center Adama Sanogo and second-year guard Onuralp Bitim in Monday’s matchup.
Both players are already locked into the 2024-25 roster, but they will be jockeying for increased playing time after fulfilling minimal roles last year. Sanogo played the majority of his rookie minutes in the G-League while Bitim averaged 11.7 minutes in 23 games as a midyear signing.
Sanogo led the Bulls in scoring with 16 points, racking up 15 rebounds and a pair of blocks to showcase his ability to bolster the team as a rim protector — a valuable trait in the wake of Andre Drummond leaving in free agency this summer.
Bitim struggled from long range with a 1-for-6 shooting night behind the arc. He logged five assists but also coughed up a pair of turnovers while providing a clear mismatch on the defensive end of the ball.
3. Bulls continue to rack up 3s.
After finishing in the league’s cellar in 3-point shooting for three straight seasons, the Bulls are committed to taking significantly more attempts from behind the arc this year. That trend continued even with LaVine, White and Williams — three of the team’s leading 3-point shooters — on the bench in Milwaukee. The Bulls took 54 3-pointers, 22 more than their season average last year.
The Bulls were white-hot from long range in the first half, going 13-for-29 from behind the arc in the opening two frames. But they went cold in the third quarter (1-for-15) in a harsh regression to the mean, finishing 17-for-54 as the deep bench unit produced only four makes in the second half. Giddey led the team in production and efficiency, going 3-for-4 from behind the arc in a limited 22-minute outing.
Preseason isn’t the time to judge a team’s 3-point shooting accuracy — on the misses or the makes — but it is an important litmus test for a team’s shot profile heading into the season. The Bulls are better structured to create shooting opportunities behind the arc. The real question will be whether they can make them with any consistency.
4. Julian Phillips exits with an injury.
After a scorching night from 3-point range against the Memphis Grizzlies last week, Julian Phillips cooled off behind the arc in Milwaukee. His 2-for-6 shooting from 3-point range — combined with 2-for-5 shooting inside the arc — reflected a lack of consistency the second-year wing will hope to iron out this year to earn more minutes.
Phillips also grabbed a pair of offensive rebounds, but his outing came to an early end when he crashed to the floor after getting tripped up by Gary Trent Jr. in the second quarter. Phillips attempted to play on, but eventually headed to the locker room and was ruled out with a rib contusion.
5. Battling for the final roster spot.
Resting the starters meant Donovan had a chance to take a look at key players who might fill the 15th and final spot on the roster for the Bulls this season. This group included Kenny Lofton Jr., Talen Horton-Tucker and E.J. Liddell.
Horton-Tucker has been the clear front-runner for this position due to his playing time and production in the preseason. He notched 15 points in just under 18 minutes on the court Monday after not featuring in the first half.
Liddell showed off his ability to switch up and down positionally on defense and grabbed six rebounds, but hit only one shot from the field. Lofton snagged eight rebounds and worked his way to the free-throw line twice while scoring 10 points. Both players would provide additional size for the Bulls behind Vučević and Smith.
