ORLANDO, Fla. — Over the course of the Chicago Bulls’ 110-98 win over the Orlando Magic on Saturday night, Patrick Williams seemed to find himself on the basketball court again.
It wasn’t loud. It wasn’t flashy. That’s still not Williams’ style. But for four consistent quarters, Williams quietly asserted himself on both ends of the court — diving on the floor to force a steal, slinging full-court passes after grabbing defensive rebounds, pump-faking and driving to the rim to draw fouls.
In the second quarter, Williams jumped over Wendell Carter Jr. to nudge away a lob pass and prevent an alley-oop. Seconds later, he slipped out of a screen to charge up the paint and throw down a one-handed slam — one of two dunks in the game for Williams after he had only 17 in the entire 2024-25 season.
“I think I played good ball — but most importantly, we won,” Williams said. “That’s kind of how I judge myself, no matter how I played. If we win, great. If we lost, I didn’t do enough.”
Williams finished with 12 points, five rebounds and five assists. It wasn’t the highest-volume performance of the night — that belonged to Josh Giddey (21 points) and Tre Jones (eight assists). And Williams’ output might not seem like a standout showing for a former lottery pick.
But this is everything the Bulls have wanted out of Williams in recent seasons — confident, aggressive basketball that utilizes every inch of his 6-foot-7 frame. And it was enough to bolster the Bulls to a 2-0 start to the season.
Here are six takeaways from the win.
1. Foul play suspected.
A standout night from Williams was the direct byproduct of an off night for Matas Buzelis, who fouled out in only 12 minutes, 24 seconds of playing time.
The second-year forward picked up two early fouls in the first quarter, forcing coach Billy Donovan to sit him after less than seven minutes on the court. Donovan kept Buzelis on the bench until midway through the second quarter — only for Buzelis to draw another whistle 35 seconds later, leading to another removal.
Buzelis started the third quarter only to pick up yet another foul at the 10:15 mark, earning another quick substitution. The forward lasted longer in a rotation near the end of the third quarter but picked up another foul — and another substitution — with 10:23 left in the fourth quarter.
Donovan gave Buzelis one final chance to return for the closing rotation, but he picked up a sixth and final foul in only 14 seconds. Buzelis couldn’t make up for any of his defensive errors on the opposite end of the court, where he coughed up two turnovers and shot 1-for-5 from the floor to finish with three points.
“To be honest with you, I put him back (in the game) because I thought that was the best thing for our team at that point in time — give us some size, some rebounding, give us an extra punch offensively to get downhill and get to the rim,” Donovan said. “It was short-lived because he wasn’t out there very long, but these are the learning experiences for him. He’s got to go through this.”
The Bulls knew Buzelis, 21, would have growing pains in Year 2. Teams are scouting him as a primary option. Defenses know all of his moves — and how to counter them. And even though Buzelis is a starter, Donovan doesn’t plan to be any less harsh on him when he makes mistakes.
The offsetting performance from Williams was a less expected outcome — and a promising prospect for the rest of the season. Williams lost his starting role to Buzelis last season. If he can provide a challenge to Buzelis off the bench, the Bulls would have another factor driving their young star’s development while also getting the best out of Williams.
2. Isaac Okoro remained scoreless.
Okoro didn’t score in the win, shooting 0-for-6 from the field. After going 0-for-2 in Wednesday’s season opener against the Detroit Pistons, the forward remains scoreless after two games as a Bulls starter.
As a defensive specialist, Okoro never has logged hefty scoring numbers. He averaged 9.6 points as a rookie, which was the highest-scoring season of his career. He averaged only 6.1 last season. But Okoro always has been fairly efficient with a 46.6% career shooting percentage, including 35.1% from 3-point range.
Okoro, acquired in a June trade with the Cleveland Cavaliers for Lonzo Ball, had four rebounds and four fouls against the Magic and was not part of the closing rotation.
3. A slow start behind the arc.
The Bulls are noticeably lagging in their 3-point output through two games after finishing last season as one of the highest-volume long-range teams in the league.
The Bulls last season averaged the third-most takes (42) and makes (15.4) in the league behind the 3-point arc, but they attempted only 27 against the Magic. After shooting 30 3s against the Pistons on Wednesday, the Bulls have started the season 13.5 attempts per game below last year’s average.
This could be a simple symptom of missing starting guard Coby White, who averaged 7.9 3-point attempts last season. But the Bulls are failing to make up for White’s shooting in the aggregate, putting their offense behind the rest of the league.
The Bulls benefited Saturday from an uncharacteristically poor 3-point-shooting night from the Magic, who finished 3-for-24 behind the arc.
4. Tre Jones buoyed the starting lineup.
While the Bulls miss White’s scoring production in the starting lineup, Jones is bringing something different to the table in White’s absence — pure playmaking.
Jones logged eight assists and three turnovers against the Magic, highlighting his traits as a pass-first point guard. His downhill drives opened the court for the Bulls, resulting in six drawn fouls and 13 points, eight of which came from the free-throw line. And Jones tallied a career-high five steals.
5. Another 11-man rotation.
Donovan continues to field a deep rotation to maintain the grueling pace of the offense. The Bulls ran with an 11-man rotation against the Magic, with Julian Phillips and Dalen Terry both earning minutes midway through the second quarter.
6. No playing time for the rookie.
Despite the deep rotation, forward Noa Essengue did not play and has yet to make his NBA debut, which follows the team’s plan to take a slow approach with the 19-year-old lottery pick’s development.
