INDIANAPOLIS _ The Orlando Magic relied on center Nikola Vucevic as a scorer for four seasons.
They can't depend on him right now.
A painful slump has ensnared Vucevic at a time his team desperately needs him. In the last three games, the affable big man made only five of his 32 shot attempts. His funk has impacted the Magic's already suspect offense, which entered Tuesday dead last in the NBA in field-goal percentage.
"I'm trying to figure that one out," Vucevic said. "It's never happened to me that I shoot so poorly from the field."
The Magic entered this season knowing that Vucevic and shooting guard Evan Fournier would have to serve as the team's offensive linchpins. In Vucevic's case, that didn't figure to be much of an issue. He led the team in scoring during the 2014-15 and 2015-16 seasons as he emerged as one of the league's top offensive threats at center.
But he has struggled this season, scoring only 10.9 points per game, his lowest average since the team acquired him in Aug. 2012. To be sure, Vucevic's place on the team changed dramatically after the team traded for power forward Serge Ibaka and signed center Bismack Biyombo over the summer. Those additions have reduced Vucevic's minutes and perhaps have jolted his confidence.
The changes also occurred as the Magic started to adjust to yet another coaching change, with the franchise hiring Frank Vogel after the sudden resignation of Scott Skiles. Vucevic must acclimate to his fourth coach in five seasons, and Vogel still must adjust to Vucevic.
"He's just not in a good rhythm right now," Vogel said. "We'll continue to try and get him in a rhythm."
A disturbing trend in Vucevic's game _ a pattern that started well before Vogel arrived _ has accelerated. On offense, Vucevic continues to drift farther from the hoop, which negates his considerable ability as a post scorer.
The development is evident whenever the Magic play, but it also is reflected in the NBA's player-tracking statistics, which monitor players' precise locations on the court and register where players touch the ball.
During the 2014-15 season, Vucevic touched the ball 5.9 times in the paint per game and averaged 0.94 points per paint touch, the statistics show.
So far this season, he has touched the ball only 3.5 times in the paint per game and has averaged only 0.66 points per paint touch.
Vucevic possesses a good low-post game, but early in the Magic's blowout loss Monday night to the Indiana Pacers, he struggled to back down second-year big man Myles Turner. As the night progressed, Vucevic primarily settled for mid-range jumpers, which have become the cornerstone of his offensive game over the last few seasons.
Biyombo has eaten into Vucevic's playing time, helping to drop Vucevic's minutes from 31.3 per game last season to 27.0 per game this season.
Vucevic indicated he has started to press a bit.
"I have to find my rhythm, kind of get in the positions that I was used to getting last year and the years in the past where I feel more comfortable making plays," Vucevic said after the Magic lost to the Pacers 88-69. "Some games, I wasn't getting as many shots. I kind of started overthinking things, where I need to make the shots I do get, try to maybe make too much happen."
Vucevic's slump has occurred at a rough time.
The Magic's 69 points against the Pacers were their lowest single-game point total since Feb. 4, 2013.
"We need Vooch badly," said Fournier, who is Vucevic's closest friend on the team.
"He's big time and he knows it. He's one of the most talented guys down low in the league. He's looking for his rhythm. It's never easy to go through that. But I have high faith and confidence in him. I know he's going to get back up, but it's not great seeing him struggling right now."
