Buzelis, Ball might hold the key to improving Bulls

The Bulls are at that point in the season where they should start showing improvement in things like defense and turnovers.

There have been glimpses of a decent team on the floor, but not often enough.

After a miserable second quarter against Philadelphia on Sunday afternoon, the Bulls tried to rally from a 19-point deficit, but lost 108-100 at the United Center.

Zach LaVine had a nice game, finishing with 30 points on 6-of-14 shooting from 3-point range, but the Bulls needed another scorer to step forward. Nikola Vucevic and Coby White were next on the list with 13 each.

Sixers center Joel Embiid played for just the fifth time this season. He started the game missing his first 7 shots, then scored 19 points in the second quarter and finished with 31. He got help from guard Tyrese Maxey, who notched a triple-double with 25 points, 14 assists and 11 rebounds. The Bulls were trounced on the glass 56-35.

There were a couple of positive signs that could maybe push the Bulls to more success. One was the play of rookie Matas Buzelis and another was Lonzo Ball showing signs of his double-team magic from back in 2021-22.

Buzelis shed the plastic mask he wore Friday to protect a nose injury, logged the most minutes (24) of any player off the Bulls bench and produced the team's highest plus-minus (13) of the game.

“I thought he was playing well because he was rebounding,” Bulls coach Billy Donovan said. “He was on the glass and he was deflecting stuff at the rim. We got back in the game with that second unit.”

After the game, Buzelis had a chat on the court with one of his role models, Sixers forward Paul George.

“He told me, 'Keep pushing, you're special. Just keep moving,'” Buzelis said. “It means a lot. I try to instill his game into my workouts and try to emulate what he does on the court.”

It's tough to predict Buzelis' ceiling. He has the skills to do just about everything on the court and might be the Bulls' most athletic player at 6-10, but the Willowbrook native just turned 20 and could use a few dozen pounds of muscle on his frame.

A game like this offers some interesting choices. Can he drive to the hoop and finish against the 7-foot Embiid or shoot over the top of George?

“I'll go up against anybody,” Buzelis said. “I don't really care who's on the court. I ain't cautious. I'm going in there. I'm not worried about who's out there.”

When the Bulls got off to a great start in the 2021-22 season, Ball's defense was an important factor. He's one of the best in the league at double-teaming an opposing star, because he has the length to make things difficult and the speed to recover. Of course, he's still working his way back from two seasons sidelined by three knee surgeries. Donovan said he got the OK to bump Ball's minutes from 18 to 20 on Sunday.

Ball helped with the fourth-quarter comeback by forcing Embiid into a couple of turnovers. The previous version of Ball's double-teams were especially effective because he had Alex Caruso as a teammate, ready to jump into passing lanes to start a fast break.

Caruso is now in Oklahoma City and the Bulls don't have anyone who can match his defensive effort. Also, Buzelis and Ball combined to hit just 1-of-10 3-point shots against the Sixers, which is another reason why the comeback couldn't succeed.

Backup center Jalen Smith hit a half-court shot to end the third quarter and trim the deficit to 9. The Bulls got within 5 after another Smith 3, then came up empty on their next seven possessions.

Even when a 3-pointer by Ayo Dosunmu made it 91-87 with 7:06 left, the Bulls left Kelly Oubre open for a corner 3-pointer, turned it over and botched a defensive switch, allowing Embiid to waltz down the lane for an easy layup.

The Bulls' room for improvement continues to be the size of the Hilton ballroom on South Michigan Ave. Maybe the walls will start closing in soon.