Observations: Matas Buzelis shows flashes in Chicago Bulls overtime win

The Chicago Bulls finished up their fourth of five Summer League games with a 103-99 overtime win against the Atlanta Hawks. Despite a 16-point halftime lead, the Hawks narrowed the score to single-digits and eventually took the lead in the fourth quarter.

But the Bulls regained control and ultimately won in overtime. They move to 2-2 in Summer League play.

— Matas Buzelis was not listed in the starting lineup, but he did play off the bench. It was described as being the coach’s decision. The ESPN broadcast suggested the Bulls wanted to get a look at some new lineups.

— Prior to the draft, Buzelis called out the presumptive and eventual number one overall pick Zaccharie Risacher.

“I want to see him one-on-one. He just doesn’t want to do that with me. His agent will not do that with me, and I know he won’t. It’s a business decision,” Buzelis told Basket News.

“My advantage is that I have everything over him,” he added.

Unfortunately, we didn’t get to see the matchup. Risacher missed his second consecutive Summer League game with a quad injury.

— Nikola Djurisic, the Hawks 44th overall pick, was also unavailable after suffering a foot fracture in last Sunday’s game against the San Antonio Spurs.

— Despite coming off the bench, Buzelis got a chance to operate as a ball handler and showed some interesting flashes. He’s certainly not shy about getting shots up, but these are good looks that eventually should start falling for him as he gets older, stronger and more polished.

Buzelis also had a nice pull up jumper from the baseline on a similar possession. He finished with 11 points on 4-of-17 shooting and 1-of-6 from three with five steals and five turnovers.

— Buzelis also showed why he is extremely raw. He had two goaltends in the third quarter to allow the Hawks to close in. He had an illegal screen in the final minute that led to an opportunity for the Hawks to tie the game. His shot selection (0-of-7 from the field in the second half) can be erratic and he had five turnovers.

— Julian Phillips continues to be inconsistent with his shot. After going just 2-of-9 from deep in the last two games, he went 4-of-7 against the Hawks. Regardless of whether the ball is going in, his confidence and awareness in his role continues to impress. He’s quick getting the ball out from the corner. He’s been effective coming off curl screens and attacking the paint. He had a few nice drives off of closeouts, including a nice floater in the third quarter.

Phillips aggression led him to eight free throw attempts, where he converted five. He’s got to continue honing his shooting, but it’s clear he has the skill set to be an effective role player at the NBA level if given the opportunity and room to grow. He scored 21 points on 6-of-10 shooting.

— Phillips also defended well on the perimeter and interior. He’s super quick off the ground and has a long wingspan to help alter shots. He had 3 steals and 1 block.

— Adama Sanogo got off to a quick start, scoring from the post on a broken play to open the game. He followed it up with an offensive rebound putback and a layup on a dump off pass from DJ Steward. He finished with 17 points and nine rebounds on 6-of-7 shooting.

— Sanogo’s activity was palpable throughout the game. He had two steals, two blocks and three offensive rebounds. He dove hard after setting solid screens and even ran the break after picking up a steal. He needs to continue to improve his execution in defensive schemes, but his rebounding is already good enough to compete at an NBA level.

— Steward was the star of the show. Pulling early and often, he hit three-of-four three-pointers in the first quarter alone. The defense went under screens, and he was quick to pull up and make them pay.

Steward is definitely a chucker and collects turnovers like lucky pennies. He has tunnel vision at times and is limited defensively. Still, he works hard at the point of attack, hounding ball handlers over screens. He has been effective at times making spray out passes after getting into the lane.

But he’s making a strong case for one of the Bulls remaining two-way roster spots after what, no doubt, was one of the best games of his lifetime. He finished the game with 37 points on 11-of-19 shooting, including 8-of-14 on threes and seven assists. He also had six turnovers.

— Henri Drell was a complete non-factor, as he has been for the majority of Summer League. He had two points to two turnovers and six fouls.

— The Bulls ran some early actions for Andrew Funk to get a few shots up. He started the game well with a three and steal. In the fourth quarter, he converted his second four-point play of the Summer League. But at this point, Funk is a theoretically strong floor spacer and that’s about it.

Still, Funk currently occupies one of the three two-way roster spots heading into the 2024-25 season. He will be 25 years old before the start of the season.

The Bulls could cut and replace Funk at any time without a hit to their cap sheet. As they build toward their future, they should be utilizing these two-way spots to try out young talent with upside as opposed to three-point shooting specialists in their mid-20s.

— The Bulls will face the Los Angeles Lakers in Saturday’s Summer League finale at 6:00 pm Central Time.

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