Less than a week ago, we published a piece detailing the primary areas of growth for every young Chicago Bulls player (aged 24 or younger) ahead of next season.
12th overall pick Noa Essengue was given physicality after entering the league as a 6-foot-10, 200-pound 18-year-old. Josh Giddey was tabbed with improving his perimeter defense as a point of emphasis. 24-year-old Isaac Okoro and 21-year-old Julian Phillips can be clumped together as each player needs to add to their off-the-dribble game, while 22-year-old Dalen Terry must improve his perimeter shooting as he finds his niche in the NBA.
Lastly, playmaking was identified as the skill in which Chicago's prized sophomore Matas Buzelis must improve upon going forward. Although Buzelis possesses a tight handle and unique passing acumen for a 6-foot-10 wing, he didn't get to display it as often as he could have in his rookie season.
Matas Buzelis' playmaking is a point of emphasis moving forward
The 20-year-old's focus was honed on spot-up shooting, one-to-two dribble, straight-line drives, and opportunistic scoring, whether as a cutter or in transition. Nearly 70 percent of his twos and almost all Buzelis' threes came from assists.
Breaking it down a step further, 71.9 percent of Buzelis's field goals within five feet, and 54.5 percent from between five and nine feet, were assisted. Moreover, 80 percent of the 20-year-old field goals from 10 to 19 feet came via assists, although he only attempted 16 field goals from within that range last season. Roughly 88 percent of Buzelis' shot attempts came either at the rim or beyond the arc, and more than three-fourths came via assists.
Yet, that's not the type of player the Bulls, nor NBA evaluators, envisioned Buzelis to become. Of course, it was only his rookie season, and Buzelis didn't earn a prominent role until February. The former G-League Ignite star taking on a heavy playmaking burden in year one wasn't to be immediately expected.
Nonetheless, it would have been nice to see Buzelis take on a more expanded playmaking and on-ball scoring role. Buzelis' assisted vs. unassisted splits were eerily similar to first overall pick Zaccharie Risacher's—who was billed as a 3-and-D wing and a "real threat as a 3-point shooter in spot-up situations."
Conversely, Buzelis was pegged as a jumbo-sized playmaker with "budding point-forward skills … that will be worth continuing to develop given his strong floor vision and timing as a passer." Yet, Buzelis and Risacher averaged nearly identical assists per-36 minutes (1.9 vs. 1.8).
Moving forward, the Bulls are surely banking on Buzelis' pre-draft assessment to ring true—especially since he's the franchise's de facto heir apparent. 6-foot-10 slashers don't come around often, even less so with the same off-the-bounce creativity as Buzelis.
Once (if) Buzelis takes on more responsibility as an initiator, his potential will begin to be unlocked. Buzelishas demonstrated off-the-bounce playmaking in high school, the G-League Ignite, and summer league. The next phase will be against NBA talent.