Bulls explore two-center lineups while easing Matas Buzelis back to small forward
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The Chicago Bulls are experimenting with oversized lineups to get second-year forward Matas Buzelis more minutes at his natural small-forward spot, head coach Billy Donovan said after Friday night’s win in Cleveland.
In recent games, Donovan has opened with Buzelis at power forward out of necessity, then shifted him to the wing by pairing two traditional centers. Against the Cavaliers, the coach used combinations of Zach Collins and Jalen Smith together, or one of them alongside veteran starter Nikola Vucevic. At one point he deployed a “jumbo” unit that featured Buzelis, Patrick Williams and two big men.
“There are matchups that are tough,” Donovan said, noting that Buzelis still needs strength to battle interior scorers such as Julius Randle or Evan Mobley. “If you can get him to small forward for some of the game, I don’t mind playing Matas with two bigs. I never looked at Matas as a big.”
Buzelis, who entered the league as a wing, echoed that preference. “Wherever he puts me I’m going to do my best,” he said. “But I do feel comfortable when the two bigs come in. Wherever he puts me I’m going to try and make something happen.”
Collins and Smith define their roles
Collins believes the two-center approach works because his skill set complements Smith’s. “The coaches have done a better job making it so when we’re out there, we know what our roles are,” Collins said. “Him to space more and me to be around the rim. If he’s ahead of the ball he can run, I can space, and we just keep the communication. That’s the biggest difference.”
Injury report
With the exception of rookie first-rounder Noa Essengue, who underwent season-ending shoulder surgery two weeks ago, Chicago carried a full roster into Friday’s game. Guards Ayo Dosunmu and Tre Jones had been listed as questionable but played under minutes restrictions.
Vucevic regains early-season form
Vucevic admitted he was “definitely frustrated, mainly at me” during the club’s mid-season slide, yet he resembled his strong October self in Cleveland, finishing with 24 points and 15 rebounds. The 33-year-old center credited the league’s lighter schedule during the NBA Cup for helping him reset. “Those days off after Cup play were huge,” Vucevic said. “We were able to regroup, and it also helped me refresh a little bit, recalibrate and just play my game.”
Source: Hoops Rumors
