Why Billy Donovan shoved Matas Bouzelis at key moments in heartbreaking loss to Spurs

There is no doubt that Chicago Bulls it hurts afterwards lost to the San Antonio Spurs 121-117 on Monday. The point of explanation came when Victor Vembanyama hit consecutive three-pointers in the remaining minute of the fourth quarter.

In retrospect, during the late stages of the game, something became clear. Bulls second-year guard Matas Bouzelis sat on the bench even as the game became more competitive.

Bouzelis was the Bulls’ starting two guards in the first ten games.

After that, the head coach of the Bulls Billy Donovan provided an explanation on why that was the case, according to Cody Westerlund of 670 The Score. Basically, Donovan said that with the presence of Wembey and Luke Cornett crowding the paint and not as much movement off the ball, it would be treacherous territory for Buzzellis to step into.

A contrast to how things worked in the first half when the Bulls were moving without the ball and Bouzelis was paired with Harrison Barnes.

“Two big guys there and then him having to be covered, I think that was a real challenge for him, quite honestly,” Donovan said. “We didn’t switch. We switched earlier in the game with Barnes.”

Overall, Bouzelis finished the game with 15 points and played 25 minutes. In addition, Bouzelis hit two 3-pointers and grabbed five rebounds. However, he finished the game with four fouls.

Matas Bouzelis performance rating in the last three games

With the loss to the Spurs, the Bulls are now on a three game losing streak. As a result, they are currently 6-4.

As for Bouzelis, he has endured some ebbs and flows over these last three games. Against the Milwaukee Bucks, Bouzelis finished with 20 points and grabbed eight rebounds. He shot 66.7% from the field and 100% at the free throw line.

However, he shot 33.3% from the three-point line and had three turnovers as the Bulls lost 126-110.

The next day against the Cleveland Cavaliers, Bouzelis struggled. He shot just 16.7% from the field and had just four points as Chicago lost 128-122.

Combining his performance against the Spurs, Bouzelis averaged 13 points per game and shot 44.6% from the field. In terms of minutes, he averaged 26.3 minutes per game, which included just 18 minutes of action against Cleveland.