Orlando Magic Starting Five Breakdown: Nikola Vucevic
By Luke Duffy
The Expectation
Even if Vucevic can’t become an All-Star, he’s still capable of putting up All-Star level numbers. In fact, he did just that last year. But given how a traditional center is no longer needed for the game, his chances of making the team took a hit then and will continue to do so.
Nevertheless, at a time when playing small ball is in fashion and the traditional big man seems to be in decline, Vucevic could actually see his stock rise.
This is because he’s more than just a bump in the paint kind of player, even though his rebounding numbers, which we looked at earlier, are great. He will be expected to collect more rebounds, but Vucevic also posted 147 assists last season, good for seventh among centers.
Not a huge number and one that will only improve, but it shows that offensively he is capable of including others with his nice ball handling for a big man.
The two real expectations heading into this season however are that he can become a better rim protector, as well as develop a more consistent jump shot. Of the two, the jump shot would seem more immediately attainable. Vucevic shot a career high 52.4 percent last season, with much of that coming around the basket.
In fact, 65 percent of all his points came in the paint, but we know through watching him take occasional jump shots that he has the ability to expand his game and add another layer of offensive zeal to his game.
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