Bulls coach Billy Donovan takes note of Matas Buzelis' unselfishness

INDIANAPOLIS – Billy Donovan is always looking for signs of growth from his young forward.

Whether it’s Matas Buzelis making a small adjustment on the court or a smart decision off of it, the Bulls coach has no problem making it public when he sees one.

And in Year 2 for Buzelis there have been many.

The fact that Buzelis announced on Monday that he declined the invite for this year’s NBA Dunk Contest because he’s “trying to listen to his body and the stretch of games coming up is going to be very important for us,” didn’t go unnoticed by Donovan.

“It was obviously his decision, I wasn’t involved,” Donovan said. “I think he has to make the decisions that are best for himself. I do know from this standpoint, just being around him, I do think physically and mentally it’s been a lot on him this year. I don’t think any different from any player. It’s just his age, the role change, the responsibility change, all that stuff. I give him credit that he’s got to make decisions that he feels are best for him going forward.”

Buzelis competed in the contest last year and didn’t get out of the preliminary round. He also admitted that he didn’t put in the practice time he needed to, and that was when he was a part-time player getting about 15 minutes per game.

Entering Wednesday against the Pacers, Buzelis is now considered a primary focus on both ends of the floor, averaging 27.8 minutes per game and starting all 47 games so far.

“He’s hit the wall here and there, but he kind of fights through it pretty good,” Donovan added of Buzelis. “I think it’s been a lot on him in a good way, and I think he’s handled it pretty well. I respect the fact that he’s made decisions that he feels are in the best interest for himself and his health and what he’s got to do.”

Das boot

The injured right toe of Zach Collins is still in a boot and still in a holding pattern for a return.

According to Donovan, the backup center will be re-evaluated in another two weeks, and if all checks out will then be cleared for running and conditioning.

Considering Collins has been out since Dec. 27, and has only played in 10 games this season, he’ll need at least a few weeks to get his conditioning up to par, however, so best-case scenario right now is late February.

“Because they want to keep the toe somewhat mobilized to allow it to heal, they’ve been able to do some things to keep his calf strong, but the biggest thing is going to be in two weeks can he actually start to do some things on his foot?” Donovan said. “That’s what we’ll have to wait to find out. There’s no question that whenever he is out of the boot and cleared to start running it’s going to be a couple-week ramp up for him before he can get back onto the floor. So fingers crossed that he can continue to heal.”

Staying home

Like Collins, Tre Jones (left hamstring) stayed back in Chicago to work with the rehab staff. His prognosis, however, was much better than his teammate’s.

“The goal is to get him running this week,” Donovan said. “A few days ago, he did feel it when he really tried to open it up into a sprint. He can still feel some tightness there, but he’s progressed. The hope is they can really get him going.”