NEW YORK — Dailyn Swain would jump into a pickup game at DePaul’s Ray Meyer Rec Center right about now if it meant him getting some run.
That’s where the Bulls rookie is these days, sitting, waiting and chomping at the bit to get back to competing.
Now he’ll get his chance.
Coach Tiago Splitter revealed the plan for Swain on Wednesday, as the franchise will send him, Tobe Awaka and Jaylin Sellers out to the Windy City Bulls of the G League to get some minutes on Friday and Saturday. The baby Bulls host back-to-back games against the Noblesville Boom, while the big-boy squad has a break in the schedule until the Sunday afternoon game with the 76ers.
“I think Dailyn, Jaylin and Tobe, those are the guys that we want to focus on this month of November,” Splitter said. “Go and get minutes, get shots up. Repetition is going to be important for them.”
Not the only thing either.
“It’s an opportunity to get live reps,” Swain said of why he’s excited to head to Hoffman Estates for a few nights. “Obviously being out of the rotation up here, so I feel like it’s an opportunity to develop, work on the things, so that’s how I look at it.”
Swain, who was selected No. 15 overall in the June draft, wasn’t shy about listing what he needed to work on, either.
“All aspects of the game are obviously something you want to work on, but things that they’ve given me is the on-ball thing, definitely getting my shot off quicker, adjusting to the principles that we have, defending on-ball, defending a lot of elite guards, so working a variety of things,” he said.
Swain did get solid minutes in the preseason for the Bulls, again working on being a primary ball-handler, but had only appeared in two games since the regular season began and the wins and losses counted. Wednesday was the latest but it was again in garbage time against end-of-the-bench guys.
He has been getting runs with teammates and the developmental staff, but competing against some different faces would be nice.
The good news is the plan is to also bring Swain back up when the Windy City Bulls are off, making sure he is still getting practice time with the varsity squad. That means more sitting, but not necessarily a bad thing for a 21-year-old rookie.
“It’s easy to make mental notes on that where it’s like, ‘OK, when I get my opportunity, that’s something I can’t do,’ “ Swain said. “If I see someone do something good it’s, ‘OK, take that and run with it.’ For me being young, I think it helps me.”
Turnovers weren’t really an issue for Matas Buzelis in the first two years of his NBA career. Sure, there were hiccups now and then, but his ball-handling skills were always considered solid, especially for a 6-foot-8 forward.
Through the early days of this season, however, Buzelis was averaging a career-high three turnovers per game, including an ugly five-turnover showing in Philadelphia. He spent the last few days studying the film.
“Honestly sometimes I’m attacking and there’s no gap,” Buzelis said. “Last year, they wouldn’t even load to the ball, and I would just attack one-on-one, it was easy. I gotta find ways to attack offensively. I’m not even finding ways to attack. Just trying straight-line drive, but I’ll figure it out.”
Nic Claxton (hamstring) continued to ramp up activity but still wasn’t ready to make his Bulls debut Wednesday in New York.
There is still growing momentum he will play in his first game of the season on the three-game homestand.
