Vucevic fuels Magic via double-double averages
As Nikola Vucevic continues his hot start to the Orlando Magic’s season, his teammates have noticed and they’re pulling for him. They know it’s difficult to get much attention as a member of the Magic, a team that has not had a winning record since the 2011-12 season.
He’s leading the Magic in both points and rebounds per game at 21.0 and 11.3, and he has scored at least 30 points four times. He also averages almost four assists per game.
Aaron Gordon said recently that he’d love to see Vucevic earn another NBA All-Star Game selection this season, and the center is clearly deserving of the honor. Leading a team from which not many experts expect much, Vucevic has helped carry the Magic to a 12-14 record. Not necessarily impressive, yet the Magic would earn the eighth and final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference if the season had ended Sunday.
Gordon also knows that winning will be what thrusts Vucevic into the national limelight.
“[He’s been] ballin’. So let’s just keep winning and he’ll get the recognition. … He’ll get that pub that he definitely deserves,” Gordon said early this season after Vucevic won the conference player-of-the-week award, becoming the first Magic player to do so since Vucevic did it in 2014.
Vucevic scored 30, 36 and 28 points in three games that week, and he had a triple-double in the third game of the season at Philadelphia with 27, 13 and 12. He has 18 double-doubles and game
highs of 36 points and 18 rebounds.
The man they call Vooch appreciates the overwhelming support from his teammates. This is a close-knit Magic bunch, and it shows.
“It means a lot. There is nothing more important than having the respect from your teammates,” said Vucevic, who was named to the NBA All-Star team last year for the first time. “The fact that they want me to get that recognition just shows our unselfishness, our caring for each other … just shows they respect what I do, they respect me as a teammate, and that’s most important.
“You’re gonna play good and bad. You’re going to have good games, bad games, good years, bad years, but most important is you have the respect and your team knows you’re giving you all every day. It means a lot for me, and they’ve been talking to me a lot about it, as well, but we have to win. If we win, all of those things will come for all of us.”
Vucevic should be good to go against the Mavericks in Dallas on Monday night. He turned his ankle during the Magic’s loss to the Indiana Pacers on Friday night, but he was able to go through most of practice Sunday with the exception of a few segments.
“It’s good. I just didn’t do the contact today, so I didn’t twist it stupidly or something,” Vucevic said. “But I did all of the noncontact stuff, so I don’t see any reason why I shouldn’t be playing tomorrow. … I think I should be good to go tomorrow.”