Chicago Bulls: Has Nikola Vucevic solidified status as a top 3 center?

In a win over the lowly Detroit Pistons and head coach Dwayne Casey on the road in the Motor City on May 9, the Chicago Bulls and the star duo of shooting guard Zach LaVine and Nikola Vucevic were able to extend their winning streak to three games. The Bulls have now won seven games in a row over the Pistons, dating back to last season. This gave the Bulls a season sweep over their longtime division rival.

With the win over the Pistons, the Bulls remain in contention for the final spot in the play-in tournament. They are still duking it out with the division foe Indiana Pacers and the red hot Washington Wizards. But the Bulls do still sit at least three games of both the Pacers and Wizards.

It will continue to be up to the Bulls’ top star duo of LaVine and Vucevic to move this team in the right direction. Vooch in particular has played really well for the Bulls in his three games since returning from an adductor injury last week. He missed two games with that injury issue, and LaVine was out for the Bulls at the same time.

Since returning from injury, Vooch has really made the biggest impact on this winning streak the Bulls have built. LaVine certainly played a big role in this trio of Bulls wins, but Vooch really took his game to another level.

Play of Nikola Vucevic helping Chicago Bulls chug along

In the last three games since returning from injury, Vooch averaged around 25.5 points per game, 15 rebounds, 5 assists, 1 steal, and 1.3 blocks. And he’s shot nearly 50 percent from the field, 40 percent from beyond the arc, and 100 percent from the free-throw line.

Vooch is truly playing at an elite level at the moment, and it is something that might earn him All-NBA honors when it’s all said and done this season. If he finishes out the season the same way he’s played in the last three games, that might very well be attainable for him.

But in order for Vooch to get All-NBA honors this season, he would likely have to fall into the bucket of a top-three center in the league.

As far as the advanced metrics are concerned, there are a lot of factors proving that Vooch could in fact be a top-three center in the NBA this season. He’s registered a 5.8 box plus/minus rating this season, good for third among centers. The only two ranked ahead of him are Nikola Jokic of the Denver Nuggets and Joel Embiid of the Philadelphia 76ers. And those two are both true MVP contenders.

And in terms of player efficiency rating, Vooch is also right up there with the top centers in the NBA. He ranks in the top five in player efficiency rating this season, sitting at 23.6.

Certain other valuable advanced metrics in this day and age of the NBA prove that Vooch should be in this conversation among the top three centers in the league. He ranks in the top 12 in the NBA among all players in offensive box plus/minus rating (5.4), and Jokic and Embiid are the only two ahead of him of centers specifically.

And Vooch actually ranks in the top five in the NBA among all positions in value over replacement player, which is now sitting at 4.4. The only center that ranks ahead of Vooch in terms of value over replacement player rating is Jokic, who is leading the league in that stat category.

In the 67 games that Vooch has played in this season between his time with the Bulls and Orlando Magic, he’s averaged 23.9 points per game, 11.6 rebounds, 3.8 assists, 1.0 steals, and 0.7 blocks. And he’s shot 48.5 percent from the field, 41.1 percent from beyond the arc, and 83.8 percent from the free-throw line.

Vooch and the Bulls only have four games left on the docket for this regular season slate. Following their May 9 win over the Pistons, their next meeting comes against the Brooklyn Nets at home at the United Center on May 11.