Third-year Chicago Bulls forward Matas Buzelis extended his summer podcast tour by appearing on the Cousins with Vince Carter & Tracy McGrady podcast.
Familiar themes emerged in Buzelis’ conversations with former NBA wings Vince Carter and Tracy McGrady: midrange shots, Buzelis’ Chicagoland origin story, and his FIBA basketball debut with the Lithuanian men’s national basketball team during the summer of 2026.
Perhaps the most insightful detail that Buzelis shared in the podcast conversation is his desire to cut back on his three-point shooting volume and focus his offense more on downhill drives to the rim.
"I wanted to limit the three attempts cuz I was shooting. I was shooting three [three-point attempts] my rookie year, and now I'm shooting six a game. Six a game is a lot."Matas Buzelis
"I think me putting on weight, I could get to the rim, and I could hit guys. You know, I've been driving and hitting dudes, bumping, stuff like that. "Matas Buzelis
Buzelis has a reasonable want for his third NBA season, but is his want also what the Bulls need from Buzelis in the 2026-27 NBA season?
Responding to the scouting report
Again, the logic for Buzelis’ desire to exchange three-point attempts for driving the ball to the rim is reasonable. Buzelis wants to address a perceived deficiency in his game based on how Bulls opponents scout the Bulls forward.
"Just everything more physical because the scouting report was be physical with him. Like as soon as he drives, you can bump him off the line. So that was my main focus."Matas Buzelis
What Buzelis and the Bulls must work together to develop for the 2026-27 NBA season is a plan for Buzelis to be a consistent offensive contributor that allows him to develop and support offensive opportunities for the entire Bulls team.
Perspective on Buzelis’ offense
Matas Buzelis, through his first two NBA seasons, has not emerged as an offensive creator from the three-point line. Rather, Buzelis’ three-point attempts are more likely to be the byproduct of Buzelis being on the receiving end of a catch-and-shoot opportunity, and Buzelis’ shooting in this category is average relative to his NBA peers.
Additionally, Buzelis' shooting at or immediately near the rim is good, not great, despite his reputation for highlight dunks.
According to NBA.com, Buzelis, among NBA players with at least 4.5 field goal attempts from less than five feet from the rim, posted a 63.5% field goal percentage on shots from that distance, representing a 67th-percentile result among that player population.
Reading between Buzelis' lines
Looking forward to the 2026-27 NBA season, Buzelis’ pod appearance with Carter and McGrady creates questionable options about how Matas Buzelis perceives his NBA offensive abilities.
Perhaps the quiet part that needs to be said loudly is Matas Buzelis needs to earn his on-ball reps this season now that the Bulls have Caleb Wilson on the roster.
Buzelis intimated to Carter and McGrady a miscommunication of what his role would be on the Lithuanian men’s national basketball team, to the effect of the coaching staff asking Buzelis to “be himself” in games and Buzelis being surprised when he was told to play a floor-spacer role in the corners.
What if the Lithuanian men’s basketball coaching staff, in a roundabout way, told Buzelis that his game identity is more floor-spacer than ball handler?
If Buzelis can develop into an elite driver to the rim, that’s great. However, Matas Buzelis should equally be prepared to serve the needs of the Bulls' offense if, ultimately, he’s more effective as a catch-and-shoot scorer.
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