2017-18 Orlando Magic Player Evaluations: Nikola Vucevic

The Good and the Bad

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Generated 4/22/2018.

Coming into the year, we kind of knew what and where Nikola Vucevic wanted to improve.

Vucevic openly mentioned he wanted to extend his range out to the 3-point line and this season he attempted to show off that range.

It did not necessarily work out for Vucevic as he ended up shooting 31.4 percent from three on 204 attempts.

The idea of putting Vucevic at the 3-point line to create spacing and pass lanes for Orlando’s players was a good one for the Magic in theory. But Vucevic consuming so many possessions and not being an actual threat from range ended up hurting the Magic in the end.

It is very fair to argue Vucevic was doing very well from range before his injury. On December 23, Vucevic broke a bone in his hand and it cost him to close to two months of action. Prior to the injury, Vucevic was shooting a respectable 34.3 percent from deep. After the injury, he managed to make only 25 percent from deep.

The one thing that was extremely interesting for Vucevic was his 3-point shot distribution. According to NBAsavant.com Vucevic only took TWO corner threes all season long.

Much of this shot selection is probably because of Orlando’s coaching. Seemingly, the Magic’s offense relied on Vucevic making passes from the top of the key to their other players quite a bit. He was involved in a lot more high pick and rolls and that meant anchoring him near the free throw line rather than popping out to the corners from the low block.

But one would wonder why Orlando would not let Vucevic, a prolific mid-range shooter take a lot of corner threes. It seems like common sense, and maybe that is part of why the coaching staff is gone.

One thing Vucevic really excelled at truthfully — and has continued to improve throughout his career — is his passing. Vucevic did a great job of passing this season from the top of that key. He averaged a career-high 3.4 assists per game — a mark that ranks him fifth among all centers, according to NBA.com. That is a valuable weapon for a team short on them.

But Vucevic’s limitations and his ultimate value have always come down to the thing he has always struggled with most: His defense.

Vucevic did what he has done the past couples season on defense. He starts out giving a decent effort on defense early in the year and then falls into his bad habits and crumbles when this team starts to struggle.

Orlando Magic

This wavering effort is the type of damning indictment on the culture the Rob Hennigan regime let fester during his tenure. Vucevic never was corrected for his poor defense and clearly did not get the message.

For a little while this season, Magic fans and the front office caught onto the fact Elfrid Payton was also a huge problem on defense. Some people hoped trading Payton would help solve Orlando’s pick-and-roll defense woes. Essentially, blaming Payton for all of the problems in that area.

Quickly, we learned that this was not the case. After Payton was traded, Vucevic came out and quite honestly may have put up the most pathetic defensive play in his career. According to NBA.com’s tracking numbers, Vucevic let his matchups shoot above their average numbers from every single spot on the court. And, as mentioned previously, he posted his worst field goal percent defended at the rim since the NBA started tracking that metric.

The pinnacle of Vucevic’s defensive woes definitely had to have come versus the Atlanta Hawks on Dec. 9. Two-way contract player Tyler Cavanaugh went for 14 points and eight rebounds on 5-for-8 shooting. More importantly, the Hawks beat the Magic.

Vucevic put up his first career triple-double in this game. Vucevic’s individual offensive brilliance was a saving grace for a depleted and injured Magic team. But his defense ultimately gave the game away.

That pretty much sums up the Vucevic experience.