Chicago Bulls: Could Matas Buzelis Take Patrick Williams' Minutes?

Last night, Bulls rookie Matas Buzelis had an impressive debut in the NBA preseason with 12 points on 4-of-9 from the field and 4-of-4 from the free-throw line. He added five rebounds, three assists, a block, and a steal, showing his all-around game as a combo forward prospect in multiple aspects.

He was a -2 in the plus-minus in 21 minutes during the Bulls' 116-112 win over the Cleveland Cavaliers, but when compared to starter Patrick Williams, who was a -18 in 13 minutes, his performance looked a lot more impressive. He demonstrated real motor and energy on both sides of the floor, crashing the boards and playing physical defense. Now, playing against Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen is no easy task for a rookie big, but he held his own against these two players, and while they got the better of him often, he provided more resistance than Williams did.

He had a very nice sequence against Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen on offense at one point where he hit Mobley with a slight pump fake before putting the ball on the deck, making a dribble move, and then hitting a push shot over Allen. The floater from about 14 feet fell as he got his first bucket of the preseason. Another impressive play was on the defensive end when defending Darius Garland, where he used his lateral quickness to stay with the speedy guard before swatting a layup attempt out of bounds.

In the third quarter, he scored against Isaac Okoro by backing him down and hitting a point-blank turnaround jumper, and then in the fourth, converted an inbounds steal he made by pushing the pace and throwing up a lob to Julian Phillips in transition for two points.

While Patrick Williams struggled, Buzelis shined, and the fact that they both play the four-spot for the Bulls indicates that, while this was just a preseason game, the Ignite rookie may be on the path to more minutes, maybe even supplanting Williams' role later on in the year.