Here's the latest Chicago Bulls news for Nov. 7 following a road loss to the Dallas Mavericks, including breakout performances from Matas Buzelis and, to a lesser extent, Dalen Terry in what was the perfect tanking performance.
Welcome to the NBA, Matas Buzelis
Last week, Bulls rookie Matas Buzelis was sent to the G League because he couldn't crack head coach Billy Donovan's rotation.
He had scored five total points in 5.4 minutes per game across his first seven pro games - one of which was a DNP-coach's decision.
He was called back to the Bulls before he played a G League contest ... to play four minutes and miss his only shot in a loss to the dreadful Utah Jazz. Things weren't off to a swimming start for the 11th pick in the 2024 draft.
In last night's loss to the Mavericks, though, Donovan at least loosened the training wheels and made Buzelis one of the first players off his bench.
The 20-year-old rewarded that small burst of fate by scoring 13 points - eight more than his career total - and shooting 3-of-4 from three (he had yet to make a shot from deep in the NBA.)
Buzelis added nine rebounds, three of which came on the offensive end, to go along with a pair of steals and a block in nearly 23 minutes of action.
It was promising to see Buzelis get legitimate run for the first time in his career. It was even nicer to see him reward Donovan's small level of trust with a breakout game.
Dalen Terry's overlooked performance
Physically, Dalen Terry has just about everything you'd want in an NBA guard. He's 6-foot-7 with a 7-foot-1 wingspan, can handle the ball and is versatile enough to play in the backcourt or on the wing, which is why Chicago made him the 18th pick in the 2022 draft.
Heading into last night, Terry had played 104 career games. He averaged 2.7 points, 1.5 rebounds and 1.1 assists 9.2 minutes per contest across his first two seasons.
In the loss to Dallas, the 22-year-old played 23 minutes, 42 seconds. He finished with 10 points, four rebounds, an assist and a pair of steals on 3-of-7 shooting and 1-of-3 from three. He attempted four free throws, tied for the second-most in a game during his career.
He was one of only five Chicago players to finish with a positive plus-minus.
Compare those stats to those of Josh Giddey's, the Bulls' starting point guard, who had 10 points, three rebounds, six assists, one steal and five turnovers in 27:51.
Terry didn't score 20 points. He didn't have a double-double. He didn't rain threes. But he played even more than Buzelis and had a similar game to that of Giddey, who's been Chicago's lead guard this season (and is also a free agent who wants somewhere around $30 million per year in a new deal).
Billy Donovan finally plays the tanking game
After seven games of avoiding doing things that make sense for a rebuilding team - like handing out minutes to first-round picks - Donovan finally pulled off the perfect tank. At least for one night.
Terry and Buzelis played significant minutes and showed they deserve a few more. Julian Phillips played more than 15 minutes. Even Chris Duarte got off the bench for 7:36.
In all, Donovan played 10 players more than 20 minutes and none more than 30. He went to a deep rotation and showed off prospects the organization needs to see to make decisions moving forward. And the Bulls lost.
That's exactly the type of game Chicago needs to be playing this season.