Disappointing Chicago Bulls players early this season: Nikola Vucevic
There is no other Bulls player that has a brighter spotlight on him at the outset of the regular season that is struggling than the two-time All-Star and former Orlando Magic center Nikola Vucevic. The role change for Vucevic at the outset of the regular season is clearly something that he has not adapted to well at this point.
Vucevic is off to one of the slowest starts of his career. He is not getting his usual scoring volume and production that we’re accustomed to out of Vucevic so far this season.
Through eight games, Vucevic has averaged 13.8 points per game, 10.8 rebounds, 4.5 assists, 1.4 steals, and 0.9 blocks. And he shot 38.9 percent from the field, 28.1 percent from beyond the arc, and 72.2 percent from the free-throw line. These are some of the worst counting stats and shooting percentages that Vucevic posted to any start of any season in his career to date.
We were bound to see Vucevic take a step back in terms of offensive touches and scoring volume this season. The addition of star shooting guard/forward DeMar DeRozan along with first-time All-Star shooting guard Zach LaVine really meant that Vucevic was going to have to take a step back to form this big three in the Windy City.
If Vucevic can get more confident and move more effectively off-ball, it could really open up his game from here on out. It’s starting to feel like Vucevic is playing like former Bulls’ power forward Lauri Markkanen did in the last few seasons when he was struggling offensively. Vucevic isn’t able to find room to effectively get open shots near the basket and he’s not taking as many three-pointers above the break as he usually does. That needs to be fixed soon.