Chicago Bulls: 3 Things Nikola Vucevic brings to the team
A rebounding presence
This is another exciting thing that Nikola Vucevic brings to the Chicago Bulls from day one – a presence on the glass. That may sound like an overreaction, calling this exciting in the same way his offensive skill set is, but the Bulls lack of consistent glass cleaners all season makes this one true.
While Lauri Markkanen is still in town and his rebounding issues are likely to continue, at least the Bulls have someone they can count on to rebound the ball now in their new starting center. The small ball starting five that featured Markkanen and Thaddeus Young was never going to clean the glass and departed big men Wendell Carter Jr. and Daniel Gafford weren’t making their presence known in that department all season.
Vucevic comes in averaging 11.8 rebounds on the season. If that number remains in the double digits it will be his third straight season averaging 10+ rebounds per game. That is the kind of big man this Bulls team needs and has lacked. Instead of seeing a new rebounding leader every night in the box score, the Bulls are able to count on someone to eat up a chunk of rebounds every single time they take the court.
The days of getting bullied on the glass by every team’s big men are no longer. Sure, it will still happen, especially with Markkanen’s fear of doing the dirty work. It won’t happen every single night, night after night though, and that is a major improvement for this team.