The Chicago Bulls have fallen short in the postseason picture, and they are set to miss the play-in tournament for the first time in the last four seasons. It's clear that Chicago is paying more attention to its youth, and in return, Matas Bouzelis is getting the opportunity of a lifetime. On Monday night, Bouzelis played a key role in the Bulls' 132–124 upset win over the Rockets, scoring 23 points on an efficient 8-16 shooting night.
Considering how much the Bulls have struggled since the trade deadline, they need every ray of hope that there is indeed some light at the end of the tunnel as far as their rebuild is concerned. And games like this one from Buzzellis that's all it givesEspecially when he made some clutch plays in their most recent win.
Bouzelis told CHSN's Casey Johnson, "I'm trying to be aggressive all the time. I don't care who's in front of me. I'll take the challenge."
It must have been very inspiring for Bouzelis to do well for himself, given that he himself admitted that Rockets star Kevin Durant, who had 40 points on the night, was "eating" him.
"He was kicking my butt, man. It was tough. Obviously, he's an amazing player. I'm really happy we came out with the win. He was cooking me," Bouzelis admitted.
"I'm trying to be aggressive all the time. I don't care who's in front of me."
with Matas Buzzelis @KCJHope After a 23-point performance in the win over Houston. pic.twitter.com/7TnwhU39k4
- Bulls on CHSN (@CHSN_Bulls) 24 March 2026
The Bulls still have a long way to go in their rebuild, but to say they don't have some promising pieces would be disingenuous. Bouzelis has the size to be a prototypically dominant two-way wing, and Josh Giddy is a stat-sheet stuffer extraordinaire.
Bouzelis is also only 21 years old, so the sky is the limit for a second year ahead. Watching Durant up close and personal has certainly taught the young Bulls player some tricks that he can incorporate into his game moving forward.
