Matas Buzelis takes back seat in Bulls' victory over Jazz

Jazz guard Keyonte George was upset as his potential game-winning shot came up short and sealed the Bulls’ 128-126 victory.

There was some miscommunication on the last play, and someone didn’t set a screen. Utah suffered some growing pains Wednesday.

Bulls forward Matas Buzelis experienced some growing pains of his own, but he didn’t get the chance to work through them.

At the 10:16 mark in the third quarter, coach Billy Donovan pulled Buzelis after he allowed Jazz forward Ace Bailey to sky toward the rim for an offensive rebound. Buzelis returned at the 4:09 mark of the third quarter — and didn’t play in the fourth — and finished with 19 minutes as the Bulls escaped with the victory after a big basket by center Nikola Vucevic.

Donovan wasn’t pleased with Buzelis’ help-side defense and efforts on the glass. He said he didn’t like the energy of the first unit, which led to the short leash. The Bulls were playing the second game of a back-to-back, but Buzelis had to adjust and be prepared regardless of the situation.

“There’s a standard of play . . . there’s going to be mistakes,” Donovan said. “I didn’t like the way the first two minutes went early. I got him off early, and pretty soon after that, I took the rest of [the group] out.”

In the short term, the Bulls got the win, but this season should be about developing Buzelis. He has to be given the opportunity to learn from his mistakes.

The Bulls, who used many players with multiple seasons of NBA experience, struggled to put away the Jazz, who played one veteran with more than two years of NBA experience (Kyle Anderson) because of injuries.

Though the Jazz haven’t drafted higher than fifth (Bailey), the emergence of George has been a revelation for a team stuck in neutral since trading franchise stalwarts Donovan Mitchell and Rudy Gobert. Utah has an intriguing group of young players.

Jazz forward Brice Sensabaugh had a field day against the Bulls’ porous defense. He finished with a career-high 43 points and received a long leash.

Buzelis’ short night highlights the organization’s inability to take a long-term approach to the season.

Donovan said the team isn’t “just handing out minutes.” Buzelis has to improve his attention to details, but the team also has to give him more room to work through mistakes.

“I don’t want to make it seem like it’s all about him because it’s not,” Donovan said. “He’s gotten a lot better, and I feel like my responsibility is to challenge him to be better in those moments in figuring out ways to really come and play because it’s hard.”

The Jazz trotted out six players (Cody Williams, Isaiah Collier, Kyle Filipowski, Taylor Hendricks, George and Bailey) with two years or less of NBA experience. That young nucleus is trying to find its footing in the league and build camaraderie.

The Bulls will hit the 41-game mark Friday and still resemble the team that has been stuck in the middle since the 2021-22 season. The Bulls know who they are. They’re a rudderless organization that hasn’t picked a lane nor developed any of its young talent into anything other than solid complementary players.

The Jazz have prioritized development above all this season. The Bulls seem to be favoring short-term winning over development.