NBA analyst picks Chicago Bulls riser, faller for 2025-26

It may not be at all surprising to find out that Matas Buzelis is a prime candidate for a leap forward. His rookie season was solid at times, but more usage and more experience should almost guarantee better results. That’s what Bleacher Report’s Grant Hughes thinks, but with more confidence.

“This isn’t just a blind-faith bet on an obviously talented forward getting better in his second season. It’s also an acknowledgement that Matas Buzelis improved significantly during his rookie year,” he said. Buzelis was always athletic and aggressive, but he also got better after the All-Star break.

“his true shooting percentage jumped from 55.7 to 58.5 percent after the All-Star break. His assist rate also spiked, hinting at gains in the facilitation realm, and half of the 96 threes he canned on the year came in just 27 post-break contests,” Hughes revealed.

Should he keep that same level of performance from February, he’ll be significantly better in 2025-26. Who will be worse? Hughes believes Nikola Vucevic, for however long he’s on the team, is definitely going to be worse this season. All the signs point to regression soon.

“With his 35th birthday coming a few days into the 2025-26 season and an anomalously strong 40.2 three-point percentage due to come down, Nikola Vucevic is primed for regression,” he said. “To his credit, the veteran center has been a pillar of statistical consistency for over a decade. He’s averaged at least 14.0 points and 8.9 rebounds in every season since 2013-14.”

However, with age rising, over 18 points and 10 rebounds is really difficult to predict in 2025-26, and Hughes believes he will eventually run into some health issues that prevent him from playing 70+ games every single year. That will make him worse, which is also not surprising given how good he’s been and how old the center is getting.