Matas Bouzelis isn't afraid to dunk on anyone—no, seriously, anyone—in the NBA.
On Wednesday night, that simple fact twice fueled the Chicago Bulls' desperate sprint to a 115-111 finish. victory at the opening of the season over the Detroit Pistons.
The Bulls spent three quarters building a 23-point lead and blew it in less than 15 minutes. The Pistons cut the lead to nine points with just under 10 minutes left in the game. The air in the United Center trembled with the slow exhalation of a crowd accustomed to this pattern of explosions and collapses last season.
But here's the thing about despair: it doesn't take much to completely dispel it. The Bulls needed just half a second of flight from their youngest star.
The next play stalled. Ayo Dosunmu went under the basket. Isaac Okoro nearly allowed the ensuing pass to knock him out of bounds. But as soon as Okoro put the ball on the hardwood, Bouzelis spotted a narrow crack in the Pistons' defense and took off running.
And no, it didn't matter that Isaiah Stewart – a particularly gnarly guard who weighs 40 pounds more than Bouzelis – was waiting impatiently under the basket. Bouzelis crossed both legs and flew into the air, throwing back one arm with malicious intent. When Stewart raised his arm to block his shot, he simply pushed—hard—and the man with the momentum prevailed and gave the Bulls the lead by a basket.
“It doesn’t really bother me that he was there,” Bouzelis said. “I’m athletic enough to beat anyone, so I don’t really care.”
Photos: The Chicago Bulls opened the season at home with a 115-111 win over the Detroit Pistons.
Before the game, coach Billy Donovan preached moderation.
He understands great hopes were placed on the shoulders of Buzelis in his second year with the Bulls. Fans want Bouzelis to become an All-Star as an antidote to the futility that has plagued this team for much of the last decade.
But Donovan wants Bouzelis to understand that this season is just one step toward the player he hopes to become in this league.
“He didn’t arrive,” Donovan said. “He just didn't do it. And that's the truth. I love Matas and I think he has an incredible chance to be a great player in this league if he keeps his drive and motivation and doesn't think he's arrived. … As long as he can keep his drive, I'm not too worried about it. He's just becoming a really, really good basketball player.”
Even after the official victory, Donovan's words still rang true.
Bouzelis narrowly won on Wednesday. He failed to make stops as the second guard in the final three minutes, missing the rotation as the Pistons struck back to tie the game seven times. He missed all three attempts from behind the arc. At times he still went into observer mode on defense.
Donovan could barely contain his disappointment when Bouzelis missed a boxout and allowed the Pistons to come back offensively in the first half. After the game, Bouzelis joked to his coach: “I think that’s the loudest I’ve ever heard you scream.”
But with every mistake, Bouzelis found a way to balance his game, sneaking behind shooters to block the rebound and cutting to the free throw line. He finished the game with 21 points, six rebounds and three blocked shots. And when the Bulls found themselves stranded again with two minutes and five seconds on the clock, Bouzelis was there, already in the air, racing to the basket to shoot an alley-oop through the hoop and give his team another two-point lead.
Winning was a nervous and timid affair. The Bulls nearly turned the ball over with 12.7 seconds left, leading by only one point. They needed three free throws from Josh Giddey to hold a three-point lead going into the game's closing stages, despite a 23-point lead early in the second half.
But the final score of 115-111 broke. slow start cycle it's defined the last two seasons. And it also proved that Bouzelis, for all the growing he has to do, is ready to go.
The sophomore forward might not show up. Not quite yet. But on Wednesday Bouzelis announced his intention to move up to the league's top tier.
Here are four more takeaways from the win.
1. The Bulls did not have enough players in the first match.
Wednesday marked the first of at least six games the Bulls will be without starting guard Coby White, who led the team in scoring last season after former star Zach LaVine was traded to the Sacramento Kings. And the defense also really misses backup center Zach Collins, who will miss at least 16 games after undergoing wrist surgery last weekend.
Ayo Dosunmu (thumb) and Patrick Williams (ankle) were cleared to play without a minute restriction, giving the Bulls more depth in their secondary rotation.
2. Nikola Vucevic's goal compensated for weaknesses in defense.
Wednesday's game was a defensive challenge for Nikola Vucevic, who struggled with familiar weaknesses as the Pistons attacked the big man through the pick-and-roll.
Early in the game, the Pistons established a clear leverage point for the offense—throw the ball over Vucevic's head and the rest will take care of itself. Detroit scored two dunks in the first 90 seconds off lobs created with this tactic, taking advantage of Vucevic's penchant for early rotation while also helping Cade Cunningham.
Those defensive issues were the only downside to the impact Vucevic had on the offense as the Bulls' leading scorer with 28 points and 14 rebounds. The center gobbled up floaters when the Pistons gave him space in the midrange and torched the perimeter, shooting 4-of-6 from 3-point range.
3. Hot (and cold) for Josh Giddy.
It's hard to deny Josh Giddey's statistical impact on Wednesday's win, but those 19 points and 11 assists came after a shaky start.
Giddy didn't score until nearly five minutes into the game. He made the entire basket on his first shot attempt of the game. Ausar Thompson hit his third shot of the game with a behind-the-back block that sent him sprawling forward onto his stomach.
Then – as he often does – Giddy found his footing. He launched running shots over defenders' outstretched arms and half-blind jump passes, setting up teammates for attacks down the open baseline. The defender still struggled with ball control, making six turnovers. But Giddy also secured the finish for the Bulls, scoring the final three points of the game at the free throw line and grabbing the team's final defensive rebound.
4. No team for Noah Essenge.
Rookie Noah Esseng failed to make his debut in Wednesday's game despite multiple injuries keeping him on the field and opening up more spots in the rotation.
This didn't come as a complete surprise. The Bulls have always planned to take a slow approach to developing the 18-year-old. Esseng went through extensive pregame practice with assistant coach John Bryant, focusing primarily on cutting and single shots to the basket after the tackle.
The pressing question for the rookie is when he will make his debut and how long it will take for Donovan to trust him with significant minutes.
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