Orlando Magic eager to add Nikola Vucevic back to improved play

The Orlando Magic had to find a new way to play with Nikola Vucevic out of the lineup. The team is eager to bring him back into the fold.

For the last 10 games, the Orlando Magic have had to scratch and claw and find a way.

Their offense had to reshape overnight as they put the ball in the hands of their perimeter players more and played through their All-Star big man in Nikola Vucevic less. The team, already struggling on offense, had to rely on more pick and rolls and more dribbling than before.

Especially considering how well the Magic were playing before Nikola Vucevic’s injury on Nov. 20, it felt like the team was starting completely from scratch. Indeed, it felt like the Magic would have to find a way to survive.

A four-game win streak over some fairly unimpressive teams helped keep the team afloat, going 5-5 since Vucevic’s injury.

The Magic posted a respectable -0.6 net rating (104.4 offensive rating/105.0 defensive rating). That is what a .500 team looks like. The Magic found enough offense to scratch out some impressive wins and stabilized enough defensively too.

But the team is undoubtedly eager to have their All-Star back.

"“There’s almost no area — offense, defense nor rebounding — that we haven’t missed him. And actually it’s a lot more significant than I realized,” coach Steve Clifford said about a meeting he had with one of the team’s stats analysts after the team’s shootaround Friday.“It’s like anything, it puts so much pressure when you lose a starter, you can withstand it for two or three games. You lose someone as good as him over seven, eight, nine, 10 games, it starts to show more and more every game.”"

Vucevic participated in practice Thursday (a non-contact practice) and went through the Magic’s shootaround before Friday’s game against the Houston Rockets. However he — along with Markelle Fultz, who is nursing a stomach virus — will be game-time decisions depending on how they feel.

Regardless, Vucevic said he believes Sunday’s game against the New Orleans Pelicans is a realistic date for his return if he is unable to play Friday.

The Magic are indeed set to get back their All-Star soon.

This season, Vucevic is averaging 17.1 points per game and 11.6 rebounds per game. The Magic have a team-best 109.1 offensive rating with Vucevic on the floor and a 103.5 defensive rating with Vucevic on the floor. The team is a team-best +5.6 points per 100 possessions with Vucevic on the floor.

This all suggests the outsized impact Vucevic has on the team. He makes everything run a whole lot better.

"“It will be great,” Evan Fournier said after the team’s shootaround Friday. “Obviously, he’s the focal point for us offensively because of his presence. He is really the only big we have inside that can score in the paint. A lot of our offense goes through him. He’s such a good finisher. Obviously that would be tremendous offensively.”"

Still, the Magic did some new and interesting things in Vucevic’s absence. Things the team hopes can carry over.

Evan Fournier went on a scoring binge, creating off the dribble and hitting step-back shots. His confidence and urgency to take on more scoring responsible were necessary for the team to stay alive.

Fournier averaged 23.8 points per game and shot 42.9-percent from beyond the arc for a 56.9-percent effective field goal percentage on a 27.5-percent usage rate. The Magic used Fournier like an All-Star and he largely delivered like one. Especially in the team’s wins.

But it was also clear — especially judging the teams the Magic were able to beat and who they lost to during this stretch — the Magic could not sustain this play for long. They needed their big man.

And so the team will have to change its style to fit Vucevic.

But what could be interesting now is how they integrate the way they played without Vucevic with Vucevic. Players like Fournier stepped up and expanded their games to make up for Vucevic’s loss.

Orlando had to go to Jonathan Isaac more, for instance, in the last 10 games. Markelle Fultz really emerged as a quality player with his minute restriction lifted and the ball in his hands in a more perimeter-oriented attack. They had to rely a little bit more on cutting.

"“We’ve got a lot of talented players on this team,” Aaron Gordon said after Friday’s shootaround. “A lot of people who can step up and win games for us. We’ve got to put it all together.”"

Having to create new ways to score is important. Fournier said that having multiple ways to attack is important to avoiding predictability against a defense.

Still, it takes playmakers and being able to dump the ball into the post to Vucevic or run a pick and roll with a center who can pop or roll will help the team expand on the movement and driving that has worked.

To be sure, the Magic were not much better statistically these last 10 games. Their offense slightly improved but their defense took a huge drop off with Vucevic out of the lineup. And they took advantage of a fairly easy schedule. Orlando is still seeking “resume-building” wins at this point in the season.

The team was always better with its best player on the court. And the Magic are certainly eager to bring Vucevic back into the fold — even as a threat as he works his way back into rhythm.

Orlando had to find a way beyond the team’s bread and butter. It had to discover some new ways to score and attack. And the Magic at least found some moderate success to get to 5-5 the last 10 games.

"“We’ve always known we could play without Vooch,” Fournier said after Friday’s shootaround. “Not necessarily without Vooch, but when Vooch is in on the bench, we have ways to score. It’s just being consistent with it. The ball movement has been better and better. We’ve used more slips than before and I think it really helped us. How we integrate Vooch? We mix it up a little bit.”"

How much the team is able to mix things up and re-integrate Vucevic into their style of play — or integrate their new style of play around what Vucevic does — will be part of the experiment in the first few games Vucevic returns.

The Magic will have to find their way to win again. But it should be clear that the task will be easier with Vucevic back in the lineup.