Orlando Magic Daily Mailbag Volume 6: More Tournament thoughts
I answered this at least tangentially back near the All-Star Break when everyone was wondering whether Nikola Vucevic should make the All-Star team over a player like Al Horford.
Vucevic since the All-Star break has not had a great run of play. Entering Friday’s game against the Pistons, Vucevic is averaging 18.4 points and 11.1 rebounds per game. His scoring is down by about three points per game since the break.
Vucevic is still a player largely defined by his offense. So in Eastern Conference center pecking order, he is going to be behind Joakim Noah (when healthy), Chris Bosh (a much more skilled offensive player) and, yes, Al Horford, who I said should have made the All-Star team above Vucevic.
As good as Vucevic has been for the Magic, and he seemingly made the Magic a “winner” of the Dwight Howard trade, he is still in that second tier of centers, even in the Eastern Conference. He is better than Brook Lopez of the Nets because of his rebounding ability, but probably does not rate as highly as Andre Drummond.
If Noah, Bosh, Al Jefferson and Horford make up that first tier. That next tier is Drummond, Vucevic, Roy Hibbert and Lopez. Drummond probably leads that group and Vucevic is somewhere next to Hibbert depending on the day. Vucevic at this point is just half of an elite center. He needs to add that defensive side to get all the way over the top.
Whether he can or not is another question. He has improved defensively and is good once he is in position. He just does not have the foot speed to hedge pick and rolls and recover well, particularly with no rim protector at power forward behind him.
He and the team recognizes this shortcoming. It will be interesting to see how they scheme around it.
Next: What to do with Tobias Harris?