The NBA Summer League is now over for the Chicago Bulls, and it provided fans with a good glimpse of their young talent. The Bulls are trying to build a young squad, so there are a lot of important players that were getting action in Summer League. DJ Steward, Adama Sanogo, Julian Phillips, and of course, Matas Buzelis, were some of the players that stood out the most for Chicago. Buzelis is the lone player that the Bulls added in the NBA Draft, and he looked good during Summer League.
Julian Phillips, Adama Sanogo, Matas Buzelis and DJ Steward all led at least one statistical category for the Bulls during NBA Summer League, and that is good to see as they are some of the most important players that the Summer League team had. Phillips led the team in steals and minutes, Sanogo led the team in rebounds, Buzelis led the team in blocks and Steward led the team in points and assists. All four of those guys showed out, but all eyes were on one player in particular.
The focus of Summer League for the Bulls was on Matas Buzelis, the 11th overall pick in the NBA Draft. Buzelis is the guy that Chicago wanted going into the draft, and Bulls fans were excited to see him in action during Summer League. Because of that, most of the chatter surrounding Summer League from Bulls faithful was regarding Buzelis. People are excited to see him play, and fans had a lot to say about his game.
Overall, Matas Buzelis looked really good in NBA Summer League action. He did a lot of things well, but he obviously wasn’t perfect. He is a young player that hasn’t played in the NBA before, and there are bound to be some growing pains. That is why some of the concerns about him are overreactions. Here are two of the biggest ones.
Matas Buzelis can’t shoot the deep ball
One thing that Matas Buzelis struggled with during NBA Summer League was shooting the deep ball. He shot 21.4% from deep, and Bulls fans are certainly hoping to see that number go up. It wasn’t a huge concern during Summer League because Buzelis still found a way to score a lot of points, but if he can improve his deep ball shooting, it will add a completely different element to his game.
This is an overreaction because Buzelis has not played in an actual NBA game yet. There can’t be any “he can’t do this, he can’t do that” talk when a player hasn’t even made their debut. Guys get better at things. Buzelis is more than capable of improving that area of his game.
Matas Buzelis can’t defend
Another overreaction is regarding the defense that Buzelis played. A big reason for why he had some defensive struggles is his size. Buzelis is tall, but he hasn’t exactly filled out yet as he is listed at 210 pounds. Remember, this kid is only 19 years old. He is going to put on some muscle when working with an NBA strength coach and nutritionist. It is also hard for guys his age to put on weight sometimes, but that will change as he gets older. This is another overreaction that shouldn’t be a concern because of Buzelis’ age.
Overall, Matas Buzelis looked good during NBA Summer League, and Bulls fans should be excited about his future.
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