Nikola Vucevic finding new ways to thrive for Orlando Magic

Nikola Vucevic‘s role has changed more than anyone after the Orlando Magic’s busy offseason. The way he is used has changed, but Vucevic is still impactful.

The writing appeared on the wall for Nikola Vucevic entering training camp.

The Orlando Magic went out to acquire his potential replacements in trades and free agency. Serge Ibaka was the rim-protecting 4 he always needed, but also the potential small-ball center to help unlock and unleash Aaron Gordon. Bismack Biyombo was Vucevic’s complete opposite — a player who struggled on offense but was an elite rim protector on defense.

The front court was crowded and Vucevic — with his team-friendly contract paying him $11.8 million this season — was ripe to be traded.

That was the speculation at least.

The funny thing is no one told Vucevic. Not only did no one tell Vucevic this is how things were supposed to go this season for him, as he slowly faded into the background of Magic history, but Vucevic was on board.

Or at least, he was aware and confident he would be the one to win out in the end, his offensive skills too valuable to send to the bench and his defense improving enough where it was not much of a factor.

As he told Dan Feldman of Pro Basketball News:

"“I knew what my value is. I knew what I can bring to this team,” Vucevic said. “And so, I wasn’t afraid that my role or something was going to get hurt by that.”"

This after receiving a call from Magic general manager Rob Hennigan after each move to reassure Vucevic and make sure he is on board. The seeds of discord were laid — Vucevic emphatically said he was the starter throughout the summer — but have not sprouted not in the least. At least so far this year.

Vucevic through the first weeks of the season is thriving. And thriving in unexpected ways.

Take Thursday’s win over the Sacramento Kings for example.

DeMarcus Cousins was dominating the Magic throughout the game — ending with 33 points in the game. He overpowered Serge Ibaka for much of the game. Even Bismack Biyombo struggled.

But late in the game, Frank Vogel put Vucevic on Cousins, with the idea of having Ibaka come over for weakside help. Surprisingly Vucevic held his ground and the Magic expanded their lead.

“We put him on Cousins,” Vogel said after Thursday’s game. “We were struggling a little bit with Serge and Biz on the basketball. The adjustment was to try to put Vuc on him and let those guys meet Cousins at the rim. It never really played out that way because Vuc did a good job one on one. He had a great competitive spirit tonight and a big reason why we won.”

Vucevic’s defense has been noticeably better this season. Frank Vogel came in and said he believed he could teach Vucevic the same anticipation and positioning techniques that turned Roy Hibbert into a defensive monster.

Small sample sizes granted, Vucevic is playing the best defense of his career (even as Ibaka struggles and the Magic are in the middle of the league in terms of defensive rating — actually 23rd in the league entering Monday’s game.

According to Basketball-Reference, Vucevic is posting a 2.0 defensive box plus-minus. Essentially meaning his team is 2.0 points per 100 possessions better than an average player defensively because of his contributions. The Magic have their third lowest defensive rating with Vucevic on the floor — 101.0 according to NBA.com. The players who have a better defensive rating so far? Low-minute players C.J. Watson and Stephen Zimmerman.

It may not meet the eye test, and it may be more a product of the players around him in some way, but the Magic have played better defense with Vucevic on the floor. And, even to the eye, Vucevic has been in better defensive position.

An even more positive sign for Vucevic is opponents are shooting 44.9 percent against him so far this year (a great feat for a center). He is even above average defending within six feet — allowing 55.6 percent from that range according to NBA.com/stats, a few percentage points better than the league average. Last year, he gave up 46.4 percent shooting and 58.3 percent within six feet.

Those are significant changes. Vucevic’s impact so far this year has come from an unexpected place. At least early in the season.

Where Vucevic has surprisingly struggled so far this year is on offense.

Vucevic is averaging just 12.5 points per game. His field goal percentage is down to 49.3 percent, which would be the lowest in his Magic career if that continues. His field goal attempts per game are also down to about 11 per game from 16 per game from the last two years.

Worse though, his mid-range jumpers are falling flat. He is making just 11 of his 29 shots (37.9 percent) in mid-range according to NBA.com/stats. He shot 46.0 percent from there last year.

This is made only worse by his changing role on the block.

Vucevic is still efficient in the post — putting up 1.00 points per possession on 8-for-15 shooting on 16 post-up possessions. But his frequency in the post is down from 28.3 percent frequency to 18.8 percent this year. He went from 5.4 post ups per game to just 2.7.

The Magic are using Vucevic less and in a very different way through the early part of the season.

Perhaps it is by design as the Magic try to get other players acclimated, knowing Vucevic can bump his numbers up and get added as a security blanket. No one doubts Vucevic’s offensive ability or that he can reach in and become that player again.

Vucevic still faces questions though. Lineups featuring both Vucevic and one of the Magic’s two newest acquisitions in the front court struggle. With Ibaka, the Magic post a 105.1 defensive rating and a -1.9 net rating. With Biyombo, the Magic post a 92.2 defensive rating but still have a -7.6 net rating.

Early statistics and observations suggest these struggles are not Vucevic’s fault on the defensive end. But he still lacks the rim protection Biyombo or Ibaka can provide despite his improved positioning. And his offense has certainly lagged, leading to those questions about his value.

Vucevic is playing generally well with some areas he clearly needs to improve.

Yet, because of what the Magic did this offseason and perhaps because of Vucevic’s reputation on defense (opposed to Biyombo and Ibaka, especially), Vucevic will continue to be the target for a role demotion and trade fodder.

Perhaps that is not fair with how he has played early on in the season. Vucevic has done everything the Magic have asked him and, for the most part, has done it well.

Next: Mario Hezonja regains his swagger and confidence

His role with this team is slightly different than it was with teams before. Vucevic though is finding ways to make a difference with whatever the Magic are asking him to do.