Chicago Bulls: 2 studs, 1 dud, from arduous win over Hornets

Studs from Chicago Bulls’ trying win over the Hornets: Nikola Vucevic

Here’s to hoping that this is the official coming-out party for the two-time All-Star center Nikola Vucevic for the Bulls moving forward this season. This was definitely the best game of the regular season so far for Vucevic. In fact, he likely put up the best numbers for either side in the Bulls’ 14-point win over the Hornets.

Vucevic was solid from the get-go for the Bulls in this game, as he was also the team’s best player in this key win over the Hornets. He registered a sparkling game-high 12.9 box plus/minus and a .789 true shooting percentage on Nov. 29.

The faith that the Bulls had in Vucevic after a slow start to the season, and then a stint in quarantine due to the league’s health and safety protocol, really paid off in this game. Vucevic registered a team-high 30 points (one off the mark of Terry Rozier, who had a game-high 31), a game-high 14 rebounds, five assists, no steals, two blocks, and two turnovers.

And Vucevic shot a very solid 12-of-19 from the field and a perfect 6-of-6 from beyond the arc. Considering the fact that Vucevic didn’t get to the charity stripe a single time in this game, registering 30 points was huge for him.

This performance as a whole should be able to do wonders for Vucevic’s confidence moving forward. He looked like a seamless fit with this core unit for the Bulls to help round out a true big three with the likes of DeRozan and star shooting guard Zach LaVine.

If the Bulls are going to get this type of production and efficiency out of Vucevic in the weeks and months ahead, this team is going to be incredibly difficult for anyone to beat. This had to be something that Donovan and the Bulls were waiting for a long time out of the star big man.