The principles that Tiago Splitter has been preaching are easy to grasp: Play hard and you’ll play late.
Contract amount and length don’t matter.
Experience alone need not apply.
It is a simple ideology and one that the Bulls coach deems unnegotiable.
That was evident in Friday’s win in Milwaukee as crunch time came and the likes of Josh Giddey and Matas Buzelis were nowhere to be found. A night later against Washington, Giddey and Buzelis had an extra giddy up in their steps, letting their coach know that the message had hit home.
Not only a huge step in Splitter continuing to establish his culture, but a reminder that this remains a rebuilding team where steps can’t be skipped.
“It’s a balance,” Splitter said of his mindset. “It’s a balance between feeling what they can do better when they’re trying and making mistakes is one thing, and that’s the man thing for us. I’m not saying that Matas isn’t trying – don’t get me wrong. In general players got to compete every possession and we’re not there yet.
“But that’s how I believe they get better. They need pressure. They need to have minutes as well, but they need to feel the pressure of when they’re not playing the way I want, you know, you’re going to sit with me for a little bit.”
Buzelis actually sat with Splitter a lot in Milwaukee, like the entire fourth quarter. The two spoke before the Wizards game and that’s why the coach tried to downplay how big of a deal it was.
“I think we’re making it a bigger deal than it should be,” Splitter said. “It’s just part of basketball. You’re not having a great night, you play a little less. It’s not a big deal. He’s going to bounce back.”
Buzelis did, scoring 10 points in the first half against the Wizards and a plus-6 in plus/minus. And tough love for Buzelis was nothing new, considering that’s how former coach Billy Donovan handled the third-year forward in their time together.
Still, Year 3 for Buzelis was supposed to be different. Splitter wants to make sure it will be.
Splitter was asked about the ramifications that could come out of sitting Buzelis in clutch moments of games, especially since the former No. 11 overall pick was being considered one of the faces of the franchise, and responded, “My question is what is the ramification?”
“I think he’s learning,” Splitter continued. “He’s a 22-year-old, he’s still learning. There’s a lot of guys on this team still learning and sometimes that’s the best way to learn. I think it’s getting blown out of proportion.”
What isn’t being blown out of proportion is the continued rise of rookie Caleb Wilson. One night after closing out Milwaukee in the final minutes, Wilson spent the first half of the home opener putting Wizards players on posters on his way to 17 points heading into the halftime locker room.
Like Buzelis, Wilson has had his teachable moments, but there’s been a more consistent compete factor to his game.
“Caleb’s not there yet, he made mistakes, he didn’t run back many times, and he’s got to get better at that,” Splitter said. “I think we’ve got to understand that the NBA is going to change now with the (new draft) rules. No one is just playing guys, just giving them minutes, where, ‘If we’re going to lose, we don’t care.’
“There are different ways to develop players. Through pressure, through just give them minutes, through teaching and we’re going to see all of it. You can’t just be the last team and you don’t care. That’s the honest response, and the way the league approaches it is going to change. And developing a player is going to change as well.”
