Nikola Vucevic failing to capitalize on second unit defenses
Most NBA big men are finding ways to destroy second-unit opponents, but the Orlando Magic’s Nikola Vucevic strangely bucks this trend.
Nikola Vucevic has been best suited for early-game situations and first halves thus far this season. The Orlando Magic have frequently used the first play of the game to post up Vucevic and establish his presence early.
He has been noticeably better at establishing low post position, which is a big boon for himself because he is so effective with either hand when he can manage to catch the ball on the block.
An aggressive Vucevic is the best version, but he exhibits a strange weakness that bucks the trend among NBA centers this year.
With the decline in post play league wide, most centers and power forwards are playing their best ball against second units. But with Vucevic, the trend reverses.
The Washington Post exhibited the following chart:
What the chart above shows is Vucevic shoots 5.8 percent worse from the floor against second units.
The question is really, “Why?”
And it might be easy to answer actually. He seems to fade as games go on, and sometimes utterly disappears in the second and third quarters, when second units are most often on the floor. He is less assertive after the first quarter, and that really needs to be addressed.
In fairness to Vucevic, in Wednesday’s win over the Knicks, he scored 16 of his 22 points in the second half and paced the Magic through a shaky third quarter to maintain their sizeable lead. It is not a question of capability.
Comparatively Boston Celtics forward and two-time All-Star David Lee shoots 24.6 percent better against second units, while fellow All Star Al Horford is good for 16.9 percent better against second string centers.
The Magic thus must find a way to get Vucevic more involved when he remains on the court with a second unit opponent.
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He has to be driven to continue the post ups, because as games go on Vucevic relies more and more on a smooth jumper, which is good, but frequently takes him away from doing what he does best.
In the second half this year, Vucevic has taken just 41.4 percent of his shots in the restricted area compared to 44.7 percent in the first half. It is a minor difference, but not insignificant in the shots he tends to favor.
While Vucevic is the Magic’s best mid-range shooter, he is even more dangerous when he can catch the ball within 10 feet of the basket. His graceful use of both hands and good footwork makes him a tough cover — especially for a second-string big man.
The noticeable trend is most bigs perform far better against reserves, but the Magic are simply not getting the best of Vucevic when it would be most beneficial.
Next: Is Nikola Vucevic better than Dwight Howard now?
With the move of Victor Oladipo to a sixth man role, perhaps he can work on setting up the Magic’s big man for a few more looks.