Orlando Magic: 3 goals for Nikola Vucevic in 2018-19

1. Shoot above 35 percent from 3

As mentioned before, Vucevic’s game has improved in many facets over the years. One aspect that has taken the biggest leap is his ability to knock down mid-to-long range shots. Often you will find Vucevic pick-and-popping for a 3 or posting his man up from 15 feet and knocking down a shot. This part of his game was largely missing early on, as he relied on his strength and height to bully defenders inside.

Vucevic, however, did get caught a little bit last season shooting a high volume of shots with low efficiency. He shot his third-lowest percentage from the field in his career (47.5 percent) and shot 31.4 percent from 3. This came on an average of 15.7 shots a game and 4.6 3s per game. For a center in today’s NBA, that’s high — especially for someone who only finished third on their team in scoring average.

A knock on Vucevic’s offensive game for a few years now has been his tendency to float to the perimeter too much. It’s a positive that he is comfortable in playing the full offensive side of the court, but it has come at the cost of efficiency.

However, if this is an aspect of his game moving forward, Magic fans would love to see higher shooting clips from outside.

More than likely, Vucevic will be taking a few fewer shots per game this upcoming season. However, if he can become more consistent from beyond the arc, his comfort at the perimeter will increase, thus making his all-around offensive game more efficient.

Look for Vucevic to increase his 3-point totals and percentage this season. After getting in a ton of reps last year, he can continue this trend and hopefully, knock more of them down.