Orlando Magic Playbook: Nikola Vucevic’s passing makes him unique big man

Vucevic’s passing

Nikola Vucevic is undoubtedly a unique player with a solid set of skills. His jump shooting makes him unique among big men and helps the Magic space the floor some. It is rare — but increasingly more common — to have centers who can make these shots.

He does a lot of other things too. And that continues to get born out.

There are many reason and many factors at play when it comes to Vucevic and his future. Accentuating the skills that make him unique will bring into focus what makes him good.

Vucevic can put up big numbers. That has been proven the last five years.

The question is whether the good will outweigh where he struggles. He struggles still defensively and with his mobility. And, he can get himself into trouble when he tries to slow the game down too much.

Patience is his virtue and he has proven time and again he can take advantage of defensive mistakes. But he needs to move quickly. The longer he waits to make his move and the longer he tries to create that rotation, the more mistakes he will make.

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Vucevic is fantastic when he can attack quickly and read the defense. He clearly has the passing ability to take advantage of these situations. And there are opportunities to play through him if the Magic make the defense work around him rather than letting him go at it alone.