Vucevic playing his best basketball in playoffs
Forward averaging 29 points per game versus Bucks
When analysts and fans discuss the top offensive players so far in the NBA playoffs, Orlando Magic center Nikola Vucevic has worked his way into the conversation.
Entering Sunday’s games, Vucevic was seventh in scoring average (29.0 ppg) and first in field goals per game (12.0). Four of the players ahead of him in scoring average have won the league MVP award.
That’s not to suggest Vucevic is in line for such an honor, but it underscores the offensive value he has given the Magic in their first-round series against the Milwaukee Bucks.
Vucevic picked the perfect time to be playing his best basketball of the season.
“He’s been inside and outside. He’s done it all. He creates so much offense for our team and he puts so much pressure on the defense because of the nature of how he plays,” Magic coach Steve Clifford said of Vucevic, who has provided 42.2% of the team’s points.
Of the six players in front of Vucevic in playoff scoring average, only Jazz guard Donovan Mitchell and Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo have a better shooting percentage. Vucevic, a 47.7% shooter during the regular season, is shooting 54.5% overall and 37.5% from the 3-point line.
Vucevic opened the series with a playoff careerbest 35 points and followed that with 32 points in Game 2. He became just the fifth player in Magic history to post consecutive 30-point games in the playoffs.
Vucevic scored 20 points in Game 3.
His playoff success has been a turnaround from last year when he struggled in the first-round series against the Toronto Raptors. Vucevic managed just 11 points in the opener, then had just six points in Game 2. He finished the five-game series with 56 points and shot 36.2% from the field.
Vucevic said his struggles were amplified when he started to overthink everything.
He’s done little of that against the Bucks. Vucevic, who needed just two games against the Bucks to surpass his playoff scoring total from last year, has been more decisive with his decision-making and shot selection.
Midway through the first quarter of Game 1, Vucevic trailed as Markelle Fultz pushed the ball up the floor. Vucevic ran to the top as Fultz threw him a pass. When Bucks center Brook
Lopez didn’t close out quickly enough, Vucevic squared up and sank a 27-footer.
Early in the second quarter of that game, Vucevic rolled into the corner and took a pass from D.J. Augustin after a high pick.
Vucevic immediately rose up and knocked down a 19-footer. He didn’t give Lopez any time to close out from the low block.
For his part, Vucevic knows his role is to score and facilitate and, obviously, the Magic need his offense to be successful. But Vucevic also would settle for not scoring if he still found ways to help his team win.
“We’re in the playoffs, so it does not matter who plays well, who scores or not. It’s about us winning games,” Vucevic said. “I’m just trying to do my part to help the team win in whatever ways I can. I’ve been efficient the first few games and I hope I can keep it up, but again, all that matters is that we win games.”
Augustin sees the teamfirst side of Vucevic as one of his best attributes. Augustin said Vucevic can play freely because he’s not on the court looking for attention or seeking out the limelight.
“The thing that I love about Vooch the most is how unselfish he is,” Augustin said. “He can score and be a top guy in this league with the best of them, but he’s so unselfish and he doesn’t care about scoring and all the accolades that come with it. He’s more about the team and getting everybody involved and just making the right play.”