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2016-17 Orlando Magic Player Evaluations: Nikola Vucevic

By Zach Palmer

Mar 3, 2017; Orlando, FL, USA; Orlando Magic center Nikola Vucevic (9) drives to the basket as Miami Heat forward James Johnson (16) defends during the first quarter at Amway Center. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 3, 2017; Orlando, FL, USA; Orlando Magic center Nikola Vucevic (9) drives to the basket as Miami Heat forward James Johnson (16) defends during the first quarter at Amway Center. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports /
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Nikola Vucevic, Orlando Magic, Nicolas Batum, Charlotte Hornets
Dec 9, 2016; Charlotte, NC, USA; Orlando Magic forward center Nikola Vucevic (9) prepares to spin and shoot as he is defended by Charlotte Hornets guard forward Nicolas Batum (5) during the first half of the game at the Spectrum Center. Mandatory Credit: Sam Sharpe-USA TODAY Sports /

The Good and the Bad

Per Game Table
G GS MP FG% 3P% eFG% FT% ORB DRB TRB AST BLK PTS
75 55 28.8 .468 .307 .480 .669 2.3 8.0 10.4 2.8 1.0 14.6

Provided by Basketball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 4/23/2017.

One big positive for Nikola Vucevic this season was his marked improvement on the defensive end. Frank Vogel and his staff did a great job of teaching Nikola Vucevic how to use verticality in an effective matter.

Vucevic recorded a career-best 3.2 defensive win shares and a career-best 2.4 defensive box plus-minus, according to Basketball-Reference. Vucevic’s defense measurably improved.

While Vucevic will never be a monstrous shot blocker due to his lack of athleticism, he can become a nuisance at the rim. He took a step toward that direction this year.

Another area where Vucevic improved on defense was the activity with his hands. Vucevic at moments this year was a decent pick-and-roll defender against slower guards because he was able to disrupt their flow with active hands.

After a down season last year, Vucevic also picked up his rebounding. His rebounding jumped from 8.9 to 10.4 per game even though he was playing nearly three fewer minutes per game this season. His rebound rate recovered from 15.7 percent to 19.6 percent. Though for some reason (possibly scheme) the big man’s offensive rebounding continued to stay lower than his prior marks.

But Vucevic regressed in a big way offensively.

His raw numbers, efficiency and touches all went down this year. The largest concern on that end for Vucevic is his lack of free throw attempts per touch. Vucevic last season put up one of the lowest free throw rates for his field goal attempts per game in NBA history.

This season did not go much better for Vucevic as he only improved his free throw rate by a shade, coming up to 15.5 from 14.3.

In addition to his raw numbers going down, Vucevic’s offensive game was much less diverse this season.

Vucevic did not post or face up his opponent nearly as much. He settled for a larger portion of jumpers. He was not nearly as good at them this year compared to last.

But these numbers are likely skewed due to Vucevic’s attempt to expand his range out to the 3-point line this season.