PHILADELPHIA — Matas Buzelis was doing a lot of fighting late Monday night.
Fighting to keep his confidence up, fighting to figure out his place in the Bulls offense, fighting to make sure he chose his words wisely in describing his early-season inconsistencies.
A fight that remains ongoing.
Buzelis came into the 2026-27 campaign on an upward trajectory. In Year 2 alone, he emerged as one of the team’s best scorers with an elite combination of shot-blocking and three-point shooting that few in the league have been capable of.
Through seven games on a one-win team, Buzelis is averaging 13 points per game, trying to play in a new system with new teammates — including the new shiny toy that is standout rookie Caleb Wilson — and on far too many half-court offensive sets finds himself stuck in the corner.
No one puts Buzelis in a corner.
“If you can recall, every one of my seasons, like first and second (years), they were tough (at the start),” Buzelis said. “It was difficult. You know, new guys coming in … it makes it harder. That’s just God putting me in positions where there’s challenges all the time, and I can achieve anything I want. I worked extremely hard this summer. Sometimes you work hard and you think you’ll get the results. Right now, you got to really focus in on what you can control and what you can do out there.”
He’s not wrong about finding his way throughout a season. As a rookie, he wasn’t even playing consistently pre-All-Star break and went on to finish the final 27 games of that year averaging 13 points, 4.8 rebounds and 1.1 blocks per game.
Last year, he jumped up almost four points per game from first half to second half, improving his rebounding and shot blocking along the way.
But Year 3 wasn’t supposed to have a slow start for the 6-foot-8 forward. He was supposed to be Robin to Wilson’s Batman on a bad day. No one asked for Flash.
But yet that’s what Buzelis is right now. He flashed in the loss to the Wizards and then in a six-point loss to New York, while hitting a season downer Monday night in Philadelphia, scoring four points and adding five turnovers.
His message to the doubters — and that group has been growing — is a simple one: “It’s all a process. Figuring out when to attack, when to shoot, it’s all different for me, but I’ll get it. It’s a matter of time.”
And while some Bulls fans and social media want to cast stones, the Bulls locker room isn’t even close to selling their Buzelis stock. Maybe because he’s not the only one trying to find his way.
“In the halfcourt, and I’ve spoken to it before, we have multiple guys that can be offensive weapons for us, so trying to balance that attack,” point guard Josh Giddey said. “Last year we didn’t have guys like Norm (Powell) and Caleb that can get you 20 at will. We’re all learning how to play with each other. Whether you’re saying his role is different or not, (Buzelis is) still that same super-talented player that you guys saw last year. It’s my responsibility to help get him back on track.”
And his coach’s. Not an easy thing to do just seven games in for Tiago Splitter. He has a shooting star in Wilson that he doesn’t want to lasso in any way but also make sure that the supporting actors are getting their moments in the spotlight too.
If that’s not handled right a locker room can splinter.
Luckily, Buzelis is not a me-first guy, understanding the team works better when he’s playing well, but it’s a group that all needs each other.
Could that be found playing with the second unit and getting put in more familiar actions? Maybe, but a fight for another day.
“I just got to get into a flow, man,” Buzelis said. “That’s all I need to get it going.”
