One of Orlando Magic’s goals: Return Nikola Vucevic to the post

Orlando Magic coach Steve Clifford likes what he sees in Nikola Vucevic. And part of his hope is to increase his inside touches to restore his post game.

Nikola Vucevic is a weapon for the Orlando Magic offensively. He has been one of the team’s leading scorers for several years and a consistent option for them to throw the ball into. One of the few players on the team that can take a player one on one, albeit in the post.

But Vucevic became a bigger weapon too because of his jump shooting. His ability to stretch the floor and run pick and pops helped turn him into an even bigger scoring weapon. When he added a more consistent 3-point shot to his game, that made him even more dangerous.

Last year, Vucevic made 64 3-pointers. He had made just 30 3-pointers before that in his career. In just the second game of the season, Vucevic drained six 3-pointers to score 41 points in a loss to the Brooklyn Nets. It was a brilliant expansion of his game and made him a far more valuable player, especially when he built up his defense even more before his hand injury in December.

Vucevic still has to improve his 3-point shot — he shot just 31.4 percent from beyond the arc for the season. After returning from his injury, he shot 25.0 percent from beyond the arc on 2.8 attempts per game. It became something he turned to but was not shooting quite as effectively anymore. Improving his 3-point shot was part of his summer work.

Last year revealed Vucevic can expand his game and add the 3-point shot. But that he still needed to work to incorporate it into his game.

But coach Steve Clifford also has another idea for his big man. He wants him to get back to the post where he can also be an effective scorer and player.

Vucevic has had a steady diet of about 15 field goal attempts per game for the last four years. But his field goal percentage has shrunk some.

The last two years were the first two seasons since his rookie year he shot worse than 50 percent. That is likely a sign of his migration away from the basket and the easy shots that come from the post.

Clifford hopes to bring Vucevic a bit closer to the basket. A change Vucevic said he welcomes.

"“He saw how effective I was in the past years especially two or three years ago when I played a lot inside,” Vucevic said. “He wants to go back to that some and have me score some easy ones inside. He wants to go inside out, not only outside. That is perfect for me. I don’t want to be running around the three. I did that in the past but that was the way we were playing and that was what is asked of me. Having a good mix of both will be great both for myself and for the team because it will put more pressure on the defense.”"

Last year, Vucevic averaged 0.74 points per possession on 2.6 field goal attempts in post-ups, according to NBA.com’s player tracking statistics. Both were relatively poor numbers, especially for him. In the 2017 season, he had 0.80 points per possession on 3.1 field goal attempts on post-ups.

Both of these were seasons where Vucevic spent more time on the perimeter than ever before.

Last season, Vucevic took 211 mid-range shots and 204 3-point shots, according to NBA.com. He hit 37.3 percent on those types of shots. In 2017, he shot 449 mid-range jumpers (with 75 3-point attempts). That was a direct result of the Magic adding Serge Ibaka and Bismack Biyombo to the lineup.

In the 2016 season, where Vucevic averaged 18.2 points per game and shot 51.2 percent from the floor, he averaged 0.93 points per possession on 4.4 field goal attempts per game. That put him in the 76th percentile in the league that year.

Vucevic has always had a steady diet of mid-range jumpers. Even in that 2016 season, he took an inordinate amount of mid-range jumpers — 491 field goal attempts, but made 46.0 percent of them. He had just 277 attempts in the restricted area. The year before, he took 460 but added 411 attempts in the restricted area.

There might be a bit of a lost narrative there. Vucevic has always relied heavily on mid-range jump shots for his offense. He has been a solid post player who worked a lot on putbacks and offensive rebounds too.

But the majority of his shots have always come from the mid-range and pick and pops. It is one of his best weapons.

Field goal attempt is not the best measure. Neither is raw post-ups. The migration away from the basket is seen easily in Vucevic’s offensive rebound rate.

That has dropped in each of the past six years, cratering at 6.6 percent last year. Vucevic is a better rebounder than that and should be able to attack the glass more.

Vucevic should be heading back into the post as much to score easier baskets as he is to get more rebounding opportunities.

That is one of the many ways he can make an impact for the team. Because as much as the Magic want him to move back closer to the basket, he still is valuable away from it as a floor spacer and as a passer.

One of Clifford’s tasks is to get the most out of everything Vucevic has to offer.

"“If you ask guys in the NBA about Orlando, most of them the first guy they are going to talk about is Vucevic,” Clifford said. “Coaching against them, a big part ever since I have been here is you have to learn how to take him away. Some people are underselling how respected a player he is and how valuable a player he is. He allows you to play 5-out with a 5-man who is like a point guard. He’s a very accomplished player.”"

The Magic will surely be hoping for Vucevic to regain some efficiency and fill in more of those gaps, acting as a facilitator.

They certainly would stand to benefit from Vucevic playing as he did a few years ago. More efficient as a mid-range jump shooter — or 3-point shooter — and working closer to the basket where he can get post ups (where he is above average at his best) and offensive rebounds and put backs.

Vucevic’s perception with fans is certainly a bit muddied. He has a strong reputation as a producer around the league. He is someone opposing defenses have to worry about. But the trick for the Magic is to find a way to deploy him in a way that helps the team win. A problem that has been difficult for the team to figure for six years.

Clifford will get his chance to get the most from Vucevic this year. And that seems to be balancing his post touches with his mid-range touches better this year.