Bulls Head Coach Tiago Splitter Could Use Buzelis in Avdija-like Role

The Chicago Bulls new regime needs to come up with and stick to a concrete  plan to aid Matas Buzelis' growth as a player. Letting him experience a larger share of responsibility for the offense as a pick-and-roll ball handler would be a simple and worthwhile way to do exactly that. With a head coach finally in place with the hiring of Tiago Splitter in Chicago, we may have a slight idea of what to expect from Year 3 Buzelis. 

In Splitter's lone year as an NBA head coach, he took a fairly young (14th in average age) Portland Trail Blazers team to the playoffs behind a 42-40 record in a very competitive Western Conference. 

I gave the hiring of Splitter an "A+" grade mostly due to his poise in his first year as an NBA head coach, amid a chaotic and eventful start. He was thrown into the head coach role when Chauncey Billups was arrested as part of a federal gambling investigation on October 23rd. 

The Trail Blazers were similar to Chicago on offense in the sense that they looked to push early and often, preferring to attack a defense that wasn't set yet. Per Cleaning The Glass.com, the Trail Blazers were 20th in Halfcourt Offensive Rating (114.2) while the Bulls ranked 25th (112.9).

Portland managed to win games with a defense that was great--12th in Defensive Rating (114.5) per Cleaning The Glass, which filters out garbage time--and an offense that was good enough, and spearheaded by the offensive prowess of do-it-all forward Deni Avdija.

Matas Buzelis and Deni Avdija are different players, but there is enough in terms of similarities to see Splitter unleashing Buzelis in a similar fashion.

In Splitter's lone year as Portland's head coach, Avdija had a career-high 30.9% Usage Rate per Cleaning The Glass, a near 7% jump from the previous season. Splitter's insistence on Avdija taking on a lion's share of the responsibility on offense saw him see career-best marks in Assist-to-Usage Ratio (1.02) and Assist Rate (31.5%). 

Buzelis' biggest weakness is his passing, and  Splitter being a creative coach who can help in that regard will be huge for his development. Buzlies isn't likely to become an Avdija-like playmaker overnight, or at any point in his career, to be frank. But being empowered to do more is the only way the Bulls' brain trust will know if Buzelis truly has superstar potential, a question that must be answered be the Bulls commit long-term money to the rest of their young core. 

Last season Buzelis had a usage rate of 21.9%, great for a second year player, but a figure that needs to be higher if he truly wants to be an offensive engine. He got to the rim at a great rate but his finishing left a lot to be desired (64% FG % at the rim). Buzelis took a healthy 40% of his FGAs at the rim, but needs to either get to the free throw line more or convert at a better clip. These are areas of his game that will improve as he bulks up over time. Avdija shot a slightly better 66% at the rim, with his playmaking prowess making him a much more dangerous drive-and-kick threat than Buzelis. 

Avdija was the pick-and-roll ballhandler for 28.9% of his plays (6.9 possessions per game) as opposed to 21.4% for Buzelis (3.4 possessions per game). Avdija scored 0.88 PPP, and Buzelis 0.83 PPP on plays as the pick-and-roll ballhandler. 

Portland obviously has more to work with in terms of big man talent--Donovan Clingan, Robert Williams III, Yang Hansen--but the presence of Josh Giddey and Co. shouldn't stop Buzelis from getting his pick-and-roll ballhandler repetitions. If Splliter does his best to turn Buzelis into a point forward in the Avdija-mold, the Bulls will be a lot better for it.