Orlando Magic Daily
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Keeping Nikola Vucevic was a necessity for Orlando Magic

By Philip Rossman-Reich

LOS ANGELES, CA - JANUARY 06: Orlando Magic Center Nikola Vucevic (9) looks on during a NBA game between the Orlando Magic and the Los Angeles Clippers on January 6, 2019 at STAPLES Center in Los Angeles, CA. (Photo by Brian Rothmuller/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
LOS ANGELES, CA - JANUARY 06: Orlando Magic Center Nikola Vucevic (9) looks on during a NBA game between the Orlando Magic and the Los Angeles Clippers on January 6, 2019 at STAPLES Center in Los Angeles, CA. (Photo by Brian Rothmuller/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /
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Nikola Vucevic, Orlando Magic, Marc Gasol, Toronto Raptors
TORONTO, CANADA – APRIL 13: Nikola Vucevic #9 of the Orlando Magic shoots the ball against the Toronto Raptors during Game One of Round One of the 2019 NBA Playoffs on April 13, 2019 at the Scotiabank Arena in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2019 NBAE (Photo by Ron Turenne/NBAE via Getty Images) /

Central to offense

The NBA Playoffs reveal every team’s biggest weaknesses. Given the time and the attention, the best coaches devise game plans to pick apart the team’s soft spots and drive it into the dirt.

That was the case with the Toronto Raptors. They realized the Orlando Magic had few players to demand a double team and few players who could create off the dribble. The Raptors found ways to pressure Nikola Vucevic either thorugh Marc Gasol’s one-on-one defense or by overloading his usual passing and driving lanes.

They made Vucevic uncomfortable and cut off the entire offense.

That is a lesson learned for Vucevic. The next time he is in the playoffs, he knows he has to play at a higher level. He will have to step up his game and be ready for this change in physicality. But the team will need to find new ways to free him up.

The bottom line is Vucevic was vital to the team’s offense.

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It was not merely his team-best 20.8 points per game. It was the 110.4 offensive rating the Magic had with Vucevic on the floor — only D.J. Augustin and Michael Carter-Williams had better marks among rotation players this season.

Considering the Magic had a 108.2 offensive rating overall, still among the bottom 10 in the league, Vucevic’s stability offensively enabled the Magic’s defense to take control.

During the team’s 22-9 run to end the season and make the playoffs, the Magic had a 113.1 offensive rating with Vucevic on the floor. Once again, the Magic played better offensively only with Michael Carter-Williams on the floor. The team had a much healthier 112.7 offensive rating overall.

The Magic figured something out in that stretch. But at the center of it remained Vucevic and the offensive consistency he provided. Getting him going was vital to the team just to give them some stability on that end.

This is not an offensive team and Vucevic is their best offensive player. He is not beating anyone off the dribble, but playing through him in the low- or high-post forced defenses to react and shad over to him. That opened things up for other players.

Whether the Magic can or should rely on Vucevic this much again is wholly dependent on whether other players on the roster are able to take on more responsibility within the offense.

Right now the Magic do not know who else would step up. Putting the offense in someone else’s hands — someone unproven and inconsistent at this point — would be a risky proposition. Especially if the goal remains to make the playoffs again.