How Vučević makes best case for Bulls' unsung hero originally appeared on NBC Sports Chicago
Nikola Jokić. Domantas Sabonis. Nikola Vučević.
That’s it. That’s the list.
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That’s the full slate of players who are currently averaging at least 18 points, 11.5 rebounds and 3.5 assists.
And, no, the fact Vučević’s averages of 18.2 points, 11.7 rebounds and 3.6 assists trail the other two big men is no crime.
Add in the fact Vučević has the most blocks of those three at 1.2 per game, fewest turnovers at 1.9 per game and the second-most screen assists behind Sabonis and his impact for the Chicago Bulls becomes even more powerful.
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And here’s perhaps the most crucial point: Sabonis led the Pacers in scoring before his trade to the Kings and served as the team’s primary scoring option. Jokic averages almost 11 points more than the Nuggets’ second-leading scorer and his usage rate of 30.5 dwarfs that Vučević’s 24.3.
Vučević is making his impact on a team where DeMar DeRozan and Zach LaVine are---rightfully---the primary scoring options and highest-usage players.
All this is a long way of saying: It’s getting harder to remember that early-season slump Vučević experienced. Granted, his 31.7 percent 3-point shooting still lags well behind his career mark of 35.1---and even more behind his previous two seasons of 38.8 and 40 percent.
But over his last 10 games before the All-Star break, all of which the Bulls played shorthanded, Vučević averaged 24.1 points, 13.2 rebounds and 3.8 assists while shooting 56.5 percent. He shot over 50 percent in six of them and over 60 percent in four.
“When you have guys out, I felt like I had to take a little bit more on that role of trying to score more and be more aggressive,” Vučević said before the break.
But here’s the thing: Billy Donovan and his coaching staff have made making sure Vučević is incorporated into the offense and players find him such an emphasis that it no longer should be an issue moving forward. Yes, DeRozan and LaVine will take the majority of shots.
But Vučević serves as a crucial hub to the offense, not to mention another solid scoring option now that he’s playing with his back to the basket some now as well.
“Once I was able to figure out my spots on the floor, how to play off different guys, I was able to be a little more aggressive and be more determined with what I do offensively, Vučević said. “I think early on I was also maybe a little bit trying to fit, make sure I get everybody involved and do everything. Once I was able to figure that out, how to be very aggressive to score but also facilitate for others, which is a big part of my game as well, I was just trying to figure the balance of both within my spots.”
Perhaps only Coby White can make as powerful a case for individual sacrifice on the 2021-22 Chicago Bulls. But Vučević’s is mostly in scoring. He impacts the offense so much because of his screening and passing ability.
Still, his 16.2 shots per game are his fewest since the 2017-18 season. Nevertheless, Vučević is as team-oriented as they come. He doesn’t point fingers and looks inward.
And he just wants to win.
“The same way it takes time for me to play with those guys, it’s the same for them to learn how to play with me,” Vučević said, alluding to the new-look Bulls. “I think for big men sometimes you kind of depend on the ball-handlers and the other guys. So it's just figuring that out. I think also lately I've been able to play closer to the basket a little bit. So that was just something I talked to Billy and them (the coaching staff) where before I felt like I was outside a lot and I felt it was hard for me to get in a rhythm if the ball doesn't go in. Now, when I get closer and get some easy ones around the basket and it's easier for me to play.”
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