The Chicago Bulls were outplayed from the opening tip in a 43-point loss to the Toronto Raptors in their season opener. But Caleb Wilson and Matas Buzelis should overwhelm the Milwaukee Bucks and fuel a bounce-back win this afternoon at Fiserv Forum.
Whether the early start (the game was moved from 7 p.m. CT to 3 p.m. CT as the Milwaukee Brewers kick off the 2026 World Series just down the road) affects the Bulls or not, Wilson and Buzelis have clear physical advantages over the Bucks' group of wings.
Jaimie Jaquez, Kyle Kuzma and Ousmane Dieng can't hang with Chicago's cornerstone pair, size-wise or athletically. This should be the first time Bulls fans see their young stars bury opposing teams on both ends of the floor.
Matas Buzelis and Caleb Wilson should overpower the Bucks
Jaquez, who scored 22 points on 8-of-12 shooting in Milwaukee's season debut (a 128-116 loss to the Washington Wizards), gets by on skill rather than athleticism. He showed why he could be an impact player for the Bucks this season — but he's also 6-foot-6 and not exactly what you would call explosive.
Kuzma, now 31, is a shell of the player he was a few years ago. He started against Washington and scored just five points in 27 minutes to finish with a plus-minus of -10. He's no match for Buzelis and Wilson on either end.
Dieng is long at 6-foot-10, but he's also listed at a crazy-slim 185 pounds. The Bulls should be drooling anytime he's on the floor. He played 21 minutes against the Wizards.
Tiago Splitter may not have an answer for Tyler Herro, Ryan Rollins, Brayden Burries, Kasparas Jakucionis and the Bucks' guard group. Josh Giddey struggled on both ends in the blowout loss up North and Norman Powell isn't known for his defense. Neither are Tre Jones or Buddy Hield.
But Splitter should be able to scheme up a way for his team to live in transition, where Buzelis, Wilson, Jalen Smith and the rest of his bigs are most comfortable doing damage. He should also be able to muck things up in the half-court and allow that size advantage to come into play.
And all of this doesn't account for the 6-foot-10 Leonard Miller, who was Chicago's best player during the preseason and played 26 minutes against the Raptors. He struggled, but this should be a much easier matchup for the 22-year-old than facing Scottie Barnes, Collin Murray-Boyles and Kawhi Leonard.
This should be a fun one for Bulls fans.
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