Orlando Magic Mid-Season Player Grades

Nikola Vucevic has come around offensively in the last 15 games entering Monday’s tilt in Atlanta. He has scored 20 points or more in 10 of those games and re-established himself as Orlando’s No. 1 option.

That assertiveness earned Vucevic a high mark in the offensive ratings, and it really should have. He is the Magic’s lone post-up threat and the only player capable of drawing consistent double teams on the roster.

When Vucevic is at his best, he can carry this offense — be it through step-back jumpers or controlling the game in the paint.

Even so, Vucevic has some additional learning to do.

The last three games he has averaged 4.3 assists per game and that is really a mark he can trend toward. With the attention he draws in the post he has the chance to create for the perimeter shooters, but Vucevic’s passing out of doubles is not yet on the level that maybe it should be.

Learning which pass to make and also improving his timing on his pass outs should drive Vucevic closer to being the kind of passing center he can be. It is not out of the realm of possibility to envision him working toward a level of distribution similar to Marc Gasol.

Defensively, Vucevic has been better, but this is still his weak area. He is just limited, not bad.

Vucevic is never going to make lightning quick rotations nor jaw-dropping blocks. He can be good at the rim, but he is not a shot blocker.

Vucevic is averaging 1.1 blocks per game this season which is his highest since his first season in Orlando. Vucevic is contesting 34.8 percent of shots at the rim and opponents are shooting 54 percent on contested looks. He is saving 3.72 raw points per 100 possessions, and teams are still scarcely hesitant to take it into the paint on the Magic.

What hurts more still is that he is not boarding quite with the same level of ferocity, though it may be an overblown concern in some senses.

Vucevic averages 11.8 rebounds per game during his career but is at just 9.7 per game this season. Orlando has been a better team on the glass, but it has been by committee.

Seeing Vucevic reassert himself as a force on the boards would be a refreshing change to the second half of this season.

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