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Why Billy Donovan benched Matas Buzelis in crucial moments in heartbreaking loss to Spurs
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- Why Billy Donovan benched Matas Buzelis in crucial moments in heartbreaking loss to Spurs
The post Why Billy Donovan benched Matas Buzelis in crucial moments in heartbreaking loss to Spurs appeared first on ClutchPoints .
There is no doubt the Chicago Bulls are hurting after losing to the San Antonio Spurs 121-117 on Monday. The explanation point came when Victor Wembanyama hit back-to-back three-pointers in the remaining minute of the fourth quarter.
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In retrospect, during the late stages of the game, something became clear. The Bulls' second-year guard, Matas Buzelis , was sitting on the bench even as the game was increasingly becoming competitive.
Buzelis has been the Bulls' starting two guard through the first ten games.
Afterward, Bulls head coach Billy Donovan provided an explanation as to why that was the case, per Cody Westerlund of 670 The Score. Essentially, Donovan said that with the presence of Wemby and Luke Kornet crowding the paint and not as much off-ball movement, it would have been treacherous territory for Buzelis to enter.
A contrast to how things operated in the first half when the Bulls were moving without the ball and Buzelis was matched with Harrison Barnes .
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"The two bigs out there and then him having to be in coverage, I think that was really challenging for him quite honestly," Donovan said. "We weren't switching. We had been switching earlier in the game with Barnes."
Altogether, Buzelis finished the game with 15 points and played 25 minutes. Additionally, Buzelis hit two three-pointers and grabbed five rebounds. However, he did finish the game with four fouls.
An assessment of Matas Buzelis's performances over the last three games
With the loss to the Spurs, the Bulls are now on a three game losing streak. As a result, they currently stand at 6-4.
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When it comes to Buzelis, he has endured some ebbs and flows over the course of these last three games. Against the Milwauke Bucks , Buzelis finished with 20 points and grabbed eight rebounds. He shot 66.7% from the field and 100% at the free throw line.
However, he shot 33.3% from the three-point line and had three turnovers as the Bulls lost 126-110.
The next day against the Cleveland Cavaliars, Buzelis struggled. He only shot 16.7% from the field and had only four points as Chicago lost 128-122.
Combined his performance against the Spurs, Buzelis averaged 13 points per game and shot 44.6% from the field. In terms of minutes, he averaged 26.3 minutes per game, which included playing only 18 minutes against Cleveland.
Related: Billy Donovan's major regret after Spurs loss, and it had nothing do with Wemby
Related: NBA rumors: Analyst urges Bulls to trade Coby White for Ja Morant
