Matas Buzelis
Buzelis is a young Bulls forward whose role is still being set. He was benched for a game early in the 2026-27 season, and a report from about four days before this check has him back in a new starting five.
Role
Minutes and usage are not firmly established. A Yahoo Sports page (checked 2 Nov) says he did not start the Bucks win and played 17 minutes, though it describes him as a starter on the bench. A minutes tracker, fantasyteamadvice.com, shows 24:50 in the Oct. 21 game at Toronto, a blowout. A hottakes.com item from about four days before this check says the Bulls were starting Giddey, Powell, Buzelis, Jalen Wilson and Jalen Smith for a Wednesday game. I did not read a current official lineup or a beat-writer minutes split. Caleb Wilson, Leonard Miller, Isaac Okoro and Norman Powell appear around him on ESPN's depth chart, but I did not fetch that page. The injury wire says he left a preseason game after a right ankle injury, and I found no later update on it.
He is the featured young forward under new coach Tiago Splitter. The Athletic, via FantasyData, reports he expects more offensive freedom and wants to attack the rim more. Last year's reported line was 16.3 points, 5.8 rebounds and 1.5 blocks in 29.2 minutes. A Yahoo-listed Bulls On SI piece pairs him with Caleb Wilson as a future duo, and the reported starting-lineup shake-up gives him a starter's opportunity.
The rotation is crowded, and Splitter benched him in a win over the Bucks. FantasyData says the crowded rotation ties his ceiling to minutes. The latest starting-five change was framed as a reaction to poor defensive play, so his starting spot could change again. The ankle issue from the preseason game is also unresolved in what I found.
Where analysts split
The open question is whether he holds a starting job and 28 or more minutes, or whether Splitter keeps shuffling the lineup and he slips back to a sixth-man type role. I found no analyst piece that argues this directly, only the benching and the later starting-lineup reports.
Research confidence: thin. Outlooks are grounded in web search over current reporting and refreshed through the season.
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