Chicago Bulls duds in loss to the Sixers: Nikola Vucevic
Two of the three biggest stars for Donovan and the Bulls made this list of studs and duds in this loss to the Sixers. And that’s something that is fine if they are the two studs in a win over a playoff contender like the Sixers. The problem for the Bulls is the fact that the two-time All-Star and former Orlando Magic center Nikola Vucevic isn’t scoring at his usual levels at the outset of the regular season.
This was one of the worst or at least most invisible, scoring nights of Vucevic’s career in recent memory. He came up with just four points on 2-of-7 shooting from the field and 0-of-2 from beyond the arc. Vucevic also didn’t get to the free-throw line at all for the second straight game. That now makes it three games this season that Vucevic didn’t get to the line a single time.
If the Bulls really want this star trio of LaVine, Vucvic, and DeRozan to take them to the next level this season, the middle of those three needs to step it up. It doesn’t help that Vucevic’s defensive production has slipped back to its usual levels in the past few games. At the outset of the regular season and the preseason, Vucevic was at least playing uncharacteristically solid defense.
Any night where the Bulls only get four points out of Vucevic, it’s going to be hard to win games. His 10 boards and six assists don’t matter a whole lot considering he had just four points, no rebounds, and no blocks. There were also some turnovers where Vucevic looked to be out of position down the stretch. That is something that is also happening too much early this season.