Orlando Magic: Evaluating the season heading into the hiatus

2. Nikola Vucevic Isn’t Playing Like An All-Star

Vucevic is one of 45 players this season with a 3-point rate higher than 27 percent while shooting below 33 percent from downtown. But only four of those players have a usage percentage higher than 25 percent: Luka Doncic, Malcolm Brogdon, Spencer Dinwiddie, and Vucevic.

Doncic is an MVP candidate, Dinwiddie is a 20 point per game scorer, and Brogdon is one of the league’s best defenders, but Vucevic’s numbers have taken a dip.

The 29-year-old fell into the big man trap when he shot a career-high 36.4 percent from 3-point range on 2.9 attempts per game. Vooch took more threes and regressed to the mean. Before last season, he was a career 31 percent 3-point shooter.

Vucevic’s struggles from deep aren’t because teams have started to play him tight. According to NBA Stats, 213 of Vucevic’s 249 three-point attempts were wide open (no defender within 6 feet of him).

According to Synergy Sports, Vucevic popped out 54 percent of the time he set a pick. For context, only LaMarcus Aldridge has more pick and pop possessions this season.

Vooch is averaging 1.054 points per possession on pick and pops. That puts him in the 73rd percentile, which is excellent for that volume.

Brook Lopez is in a similar situation to Vucevic with his 3-point shooting, but he’s one of the frontrunners for Defensive Player of the Year. Playing defense isn’t Vucevic’s thing.

He has a whopping 47 blocks in 1,763 minutes. For context, Mohamed Bamba has 85 blocks in nearly 1,000 fewer minutes. According to Basketball-Reference, only three big men in the NBA have a lower block percentage than Vucevic (min. 1,000 minutes) this season.

According to Cleaning the Glass, opponents shoot 3.4 percent better at the rim with Vucevic on the floor. It’s tough to be a max level big man in today’s NBA if you can’t shoot the three or protect the rim.