CLEVELAND — Matas Buzelis would welcome more minutes at small forward.
But it’s a luxury the Bulls can’t afford all the time, at least not with the current roster.
Patrick Williams was drafted, then given a $90 million extension to bring muscle to the frontcourt through the 2028-29 season. Williams played 16 minutes in the back-to-back wins against the Cavaliers, scored two points and had no rebounds. It’s safe to say it’s still not working out.
That leaves Buzelis, 21, as the power forward by default.
It’s not necessarily a bad thing on most nights, but it’s not exactly a matchup coach Billy Donovan looks forward to when the Bulls are taking on people-movers such as Zion Williamson or Julius Randle.
“In fairness to Matas, there are matchups that are tough,” Donovan said. “He’s a second-year player that’s only going to get stronger, bigger, and as he matures, those matchups probably will be easier physically.
‘‘When he’s having to go hypothetically against a Julius Randle or an Evan Mobley, those guys are playing close to the basket, and they’re really physical. Those are tough matchups for a second-year player like Matas. So if you can get him to small forward for some of the game — not all of the game — I don’t mind playing Matas with two bigs. I never looked at Matas as a big.”
In the Bulls’ victory Friday over Cleveland, Buzelis started at power forward — made easier with Mobley sidelined — but slid over to the three throughout the game as Donovan went with the two-big look of Zach Collins and Jalen Smith and added a wrinkle by teaming center Nikola Vucevic with Collins or Smith.
At one point, he even went with a jumbo look as Williams got some minutes with Buzelis and two bigs.
It’s probably not a coincidence that Buzelis played one of his more efficient all-around games — 24 points, five rebounds, two blocks, two steals and no turnovers.
“Yeah, but wherever he puts me, I’m going to do my best and try to work it out,” Buzelis said when asked if he felt more at home at small forward. “But I do feel comfortable when the two bigs come in. It’s not really a problem for me.
“Wherever he puts me, I’m going to try to make something happen.”
So what does all this mean in the big picture? More time in the weight room in the offseason, which was already a guarantee, and Bulls executive vice president Arturas Karnisovas addressing the power-forward situation more aggressively via a trade, the draft or free agency.
Buzelis has the athleticism and attitude to capture opponents’ attention for a decade. As a three, however, he could be a straight-up headache.
The Cavs found that out as Buzelis had his second 20-plus game of the month.
“I just tried to be aggressive,” Buzelis said. “I just trust my skills every time I’m out there. Be in the present, one possession at a time. I’m grinding every possession, then I’m worried about the next one no matter what the result is.”
This comes easier when he’s 100% dialed in.
“I felt his attention to detail was really good, and that’s been the big challenge we’ve been putting on him,” Donovan said. “I know a lot of times people look at the stat sheet and look at rebounds, certainly points or maybe what you shoot from the field, and those things are important, but they’re not on ESPN showing me a lot of times what impacts winning.
“There was a lot of discipline there.”
