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KC Johnson: Matas Buzelis said he called Billy Donovan after dismissals of Arturas Karnišovas and Marc Eversley to address Donovan’s future: “I want him to stay. I’m riding with him forever. He’s a cornerstone for my career.”
Matas Buzelis is tired of getting pushed around. It isn’t a matter of intent. No one is more eager to dunk on an opponent than Buzelis. He’s tough. He seeks contact. He’s not afraid to body up to the biggest stars, from Giannis Antetokounmpo to LeBron James to Kevin Durant. But Buzelis often writes checks that his body simply can’t cash. “I mean, look at me. I’m skinny as hell,” Buzelis told the Tribune. “I definitely have to add strength. Your body’s a temple, so you really want to take care of it.”
“He’s got to get stronger,” coach Billy Donovan said. “That’s the biggest thing — fighting over screens, on the glass. Sometimes the strength part neutralizes his athleticism and neutralizes his skills. … For a young player, putting on good quality strength can make them a lot better. He needs that. I think you’re seeing that. I’m glad that’s getting exposed, because that’s something we can address in the offseason.”
K.C. Johnson: Josh Giddey out, Matas Buzelis out, Nick Richards out Vs. Suns, per Donovan
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But the second-year forward said he wouldn’t be the player he is — or is on his way to becoming — if not for Donovan. So the speculation about Donovan possibly wrapping up his stay with the Bulls wasn’t news Matas Buzelis wanted to embrace. “He’s been everything, man,” Buzelis said. “He’s been a role model to me; he’s someone I look up to as a person, as a human being. He’s a guy that’s been a cornerstone for me. He’s pushed me to my limits, and he’s going to keep pushing me until I can’t be pushed anymore. ‘‘I can’t thank somebody like that enough. He tells you the truth every time. ‘‘It’s hard to do that, especially in this league, to have someone in your corner that is going to tell you everything you need to hear.”
From Day 1 as a rookie, Donovan has handed him nothing. Minutes have been earned, not gifted, and the hook has been quick at times. “This might sound crazy, but it’s the truth: He’s teaching me how to be a winning player, and I know everyone will say, ‘Well, you’re not winning a lot of games,’ but he’s taught me the characteristics it takes to win, and that’s all you can ask for,” Buzelis said. “Even when he’s sat me down after a few minutes [into a game], that’s just about telling me what I have to do, what I need to do to be better at it, and a guy like me, I know my time will come.”
It's obviously less than scientific to take this approach and make past point totals the ultimate standard for probability in this case ... but I found it somewhat stunning that nearly 100 players in today's NBA had posted a gaudier career night than Adebayo before Tuesday's South Beach proceedings. You can see for yourself by scrolling through the whole Keerthika-assembled list below. We stretched it to 107 players in the end to include the nine other active players who have scored 41 in a regular-season game to match Adebayo’s previous best. It’s a group that now includes Chicago’s Matas Buzelis, who was rumbling for 41 points of his own in an overtime win over Golden State on the same night that Bam somehow found a way to get us talking about Kobe, Wilt Chamberlain, tanking, ethical basketball and asterisks all at the same time.
During the second quarter, unprompted, Buzelis decided to start trash-talking Luka. The moment surprised Luka, but once he took in what was said, Doncic borrowed a page from Michael Jordan’s book and took it personally. “I’m not going to say what he said, but if I would’ve said that, I would definitely get a tech,” Luka said postgame. “But really, these games, sometimes you’re going easy and we kind of went easy in the first quarter, then he woke me up.”
Law Murray: Asked Matas Buzelis about Luka Doncic's comments about Buzelis' trash talk "I'd rather not say what I said. But he said something to me first. So that's why I had to respond. And I mean, I'm not gonna say what he said either. But I just felt like I responded to what he said."
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?Law Murray ???: Matas Buzelis on Luka Doncic: "What was my take? ... I don't even know what to say, honestly. He started killing obviously when I started talking to him." Asked about the experience: "Probably not to talk to him."
Dave McMenamin: Reporter: When did you first know as a player that you’re the type of person that can hear [trash talk] and channel it [as fuel]? Luka Doncic: “2nd of February, 2001” (When Luka would have been about to turn two years old) “I don’t know. I don’t know exactly when.”
Benjamin Royer: Austin Reaves on Luka Doncic's trash talk: "Half the time I don’t even know what the hell he’s saying. It’s never in English."
