Nikola Vucevic isn’t broken.
The Bulls big man just isn’t right.
He was finding his way in this offense before being sidelined with the coronavirus, and after missing seven games, he’s still lost in the forest.
However, it’s now compounded by the after effects of being sick, getting de-conditioned, and having an unforgiving schedule that’s had Vucevic and the Bulls play his first three games back in four days.
And the cherry on top?
The third game of that marathon just happened to come against one of the better defensive teams in the league in Miami.
In the three-point loss on Saturday, Vucevic took only nine shots – his second-lowest attempts of the season – scored just seven points, and had three turnovers.
The Heat didn’t just defend him well when he did get the ball, they flat-out harassed him, switching on every pick-and-roll. When he did get the mismatch in the paint they were running multiple defenders at him with every entry pass.
Eleven years in the league, little should spook Vucevic, but Miami did. Even when the All-Star center had the mismatch in the paint and Miami didn’t send help, he was looking to pass quickly, rather than take advantage of his size at the rim.
The good news is there aren’t many other teams in the Association that can do what Miami does. That doesn’t mean that Billy Donovan isn’t focused on getting Vucevic working at full capacity, and doing so sooner than later.
“I think is a really, really good game for myself to look at,’’ Donovan said of the Heat loss as it pertained to his center. “They switched a lot over to Vooch, and then when he went into the post they were really bringing a lot of people. Then when he caught it they were bringing a lot of people, bringing people at him. I’ve got to find ways to coach and try and help him a little bit more in that situation. I do think he’s getting his footing back under him. I personally thought in the game, we did not utilize him well enough in my opinion.’’
That was on display in the loss, but it’s kind of been a storyline of the season.
Through the first quarter of the season, DeMar DeRozan is arguably in the MVP talk. Zach LaVine’s offensive numbers are down a bit across the board from last season, but he’s also playing better defense and is no doubt at All-Star level once again.
The player that seems to be taking on water the most with the offseason roster flip? Vucevic.
His 13.4 points per game are the lowest since his first season with the Magic back in the 2012-13 season. His 40% field goal percentage is a career low. And his 26.3% from three-point range is also rock bottom for Vucevic, considering he didn’t really start using the three in his arsenal until the 2017-18 season.
The one number that is up? His 4.1 assist per game would be a career high if it holds.
But that’s also been the problem. He’s as willing a passer as any big man in the league, but he has to figure out when it’s also time for him to be selfish and be a scoring force in the paint or beyond the arc.
The Bulls can’t live off DeRozan, LaVine, and transition baskets off turnovers come playoff time. The game slows down in the postseason, and they’ll need some old-school, back-to-the-basket post-ups from Vucevic.
The Heat loss was a reminder of that.
“We’ve got to find ways to help [Vucevic] a little bit more in those situations,’’ Donovan said. “It was good we went through some of that so we can get better at utilizing him.’’
And quickly.
