Jim Croce once said that you don’t tug on Superman’s cape, you don’t spit into the wind, you don’t pull the mask off the old Lone Ranger and you don’t mess around with Jim. Wise words from the legendary folk singer, but unfortunately for 21-year-old Bulls forward Matas Buzelis, Croce was a few decades before his time.
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Buzelis found out the hard way last night that there’s a fine line between bravery and foolishness. That’s because for much of the game he was matched up with Luka Doncic in a trash-talking battle that the Slovenian won going away.
Buzelis didn’t shoot it particularly well, but he still put up a respectable line of 22 points and 6 rebounds. That paled in comparison to what Luka did, though, as he fell just a single assist shy of a 51-point triple-double leading the Lakers to a 142-130 win.
Luka gave Buzelis a personal tutorial on how to impact the game. He shot almost 55% from the field and made nine 3s, and despite having the ball in his hands all game, he only turned it over once.
Afterwards, Buzelis was at a loss for words over what just happened. The young Bull doesn’t lack for confidence, but even he had to eat a big slice of humble pie. “I don’t even know what to say, honestly,” he said. “He started killing, obviously, when I started talking to him.”
Luka is one of the fiercest trash-talkers in the league, so while Buzelis has impressed in his young career, he’s not yet at that level. Still, you have to admire his attitude. Even in defeat, he said, “I don’t back down from anybody, no matter who you are. I took on the challenge and didn’t execute.”
Asked what he hoped to take away from last night’s experience, Buzelis showed some smarts by saying, “Probably not to talk to him.” It’s not the kind of thing that shows up on the stat sheet, but if a guy is better at driving right, you try to take that away from him.
If he likes to get out on the break, you do what you can to slow him down. And if trash-talking someone turns them into a 51-point-scoring terminator, maybe you zip your lip.
Big Jim famously met his match in Croce’s timeless song when a young hotshot named Slim took him down. Buzelis will have many more cracks at Luka in the coming years, but for now, he still has some catching up to do.
