Sometime in the last two weeks, Matas Buzelis hit the rookie wall.
Coach Billy Donovan could tell it was coming. Buzelis averaged only 13.9 minutes in his first 49 games. In his last 14 games since becoming a starter at the beginning of February, his average workload increased to 27.5 minutes.
It’s a workload Buzelis earned. But it came with a price. For most of the season, Buzelis has been a wellspring of energy, the bubbly kid who throws down extra dunks after practice just for fun. But he has never played an 82-game season — and sometimes, the game hits a young player hard.
Against the Indiana Pacers on Monday, Buzelis looked exhausted. He looked more energetic in Thursday’s 116-110 win over the Brooklyn Nets at the United Center but played 14:35 after racking up early fouls — and taking a brutal blow from Cam Thomas in transition midway through the third quarter.
Buzelis stayed in for a few more minutes after making both of his flagrant free throws. But after checking out late in the quarter, he never returned. The rookie finished with only six points, three rebounds and one assist in the flattest performance of the night for the Bulls, who won their fourth straight.
Donovan has believed this truth since his days as a college coach: Nothing can prepare a player for his rookie season. But Buzelis is being challenged to continue improving his preparation down the hardest stretch of the season.
“That’s part of his development,” Donovan said. “Is he eating well? Is he hydrating well? Is he getting good sleep? You can maybe get away with that playing 10 minutes a game. When you all of a sudden start playing 26, 28, 30, 32 minutes at night on a regular basis, there’s a toll it takes on your body.”
Here are three takeaways from the win.
1. A career night for Julian Phillips
Coby White led the Bulls with 31 points, but second-year forward Julian Phillips stole the show with the best game of his career.
Phillips, 21, scored a career-best 16 points and added seven rebounds in a career-high 34:18, rallying the Bulls through the second half. He sat for only 2:28 of the second half, in which he tallied 13 points — and three offensive rebounds.
Despite varying playing times throughout his second season, Phillips has been consistent in his ability to create second-chance opportunities and force turnovers.
“I thought I played good, I’ve just got to go watch the film and learn from it and keep going,” Phillips said. “We just did a good job keeping the pace up, not letting up. That’s kind of what we like. It’s our bread and butter.”
2. Nikola Vučević started — but didn’t finish.
The center returned to the starting lineup after coming off the bench for one game in his recovery from a calf injury. Vučević was under a 30-minute restriction but played only 22:59 and finished with seven points and three rebounds.
Instead, Donovan closed with a rotation that included Phillips and backup center Zach Collins, who played the entire fourth quarter. Collins had nine points, nine rebounds and three blocks as he continued to make a case for himself as a consistent option in the frontcourt.
Center Jalen Smith recorded a healthy scratch for the second game in a row as he continues to be shifted out of the main rotation in favor of Collins.
3. Winning in March — but tough road ahead
The Bulls enter the upcoming six-game trip on a roll.
Thursday’s win created a comfortable five-game advantage over the Toronto Raptors for 10th place in the Eastern Conference, the final spot into the play-in tournament. And the Bulls moved within 1½ games of the Miami Heat for ninth.
The schedule over the next two weeks — six games in 10 days — features three of the top five teams in the Western Conference, creating a substantial challenge for the Bulls to climb higher in the play-in seedings.
