The Dust Settles
Nikola Vucevic is without doubt a talented player, and was well-deserving of the praise he received from the likes of Erik Spolestra and Doc Rivers, the latter of whom even believed him to be an ‘All Star,’ in numerous comments last year.
There are few big men with such a diverse offensive repertoire, and with improved passing to go with his tremendous ability to score the ball, he has grown into a hugely dynamic offensive threat.
With his rebounding appearing as though it is set to revert to the mean, the main drawback for the Montenegrin certainly comes on the defensive end.
But, even with this weakness, he still ranks as one of the NBA’s elite at his position. His ability to carry the offensive load and rebound the ball at a high level place him ahead of more versatile centers such as Marcin Gortat, while his high basketball IQ places him above less strategic types, such as Hassan Whiteside, even if the latter is posting gaudy (but somewhat meaningless) numbers.
Drummond and Horford rise above the competition, both are clearly ahead of him should an All-Star alternate be needed in the frontcourt. And Pau Gasol’s game is not too far behind, even with the Spaniard’s own defensive shortcomings.
It is then a competition between two offensive dynamos, who both struggle with quickness on the other end of the floor. Brook Lopez is putting up impressive numbers, but these are largely meaningless as he is on a completely inept Brooklyn Nets squad, while Vucevic has shown himself to be an offensive dynamo, who is perhaps even worse than Lopez defensively.
It is more than fair, however, to state — and this is indeed the argument of this article — Nikola Vucevic is the fourth best center in the Eastern Conference.
Next: We open the Orlando Magic Daily Mailbag
To get out of their current slump the Orlando Magic need him to get back to playing like it.