Chicago Bulls studs from challenging win over the Pacers: Nikola Vucevic
A common Bulls player to appear on the studs list of late is the two-time All-Star center Nikola Vucevic. This was a big night for Vucevic. And it was huge for the Bulls to get the type of production that they did out of Vucevic when they had this matchup advantage with the likes of Turner and Sabonis out.
Although Vucevic wasn’t an All-Star selection this season, he’s starting to play like the star version of himself that we’re used to from his days with the Orlando Magic. Vucevic is on fire of late. It looks like he’s really starting to find his game of late. And a lot of that is coming from the fact that the Bulls are utilizing him more often when he’s got the matchup advantage.
That is smart coaching from Donovan and the Bulls staff. But it’s just got to leave the fans wondering why it took so long to get to this point with Vucevic.
Moreover, what made this game so special for Vucevic is the fact that he was on point in almost every phase of it. He led the Bulls in points, rebounds, and blocks. And he did all of this while turning the ball over just once.
Vucevic came up with a team-high 36 points, 17 rebounds, four assists, no steals, three blocks, and that one aforementioned turnover. And he shot an efficient 16-of-21 from the field, 1-of-2 from beyond the arc, and 3-of-7 from the free-throw line.
About all that you can fault Vucevic for in this game was his free-throw shooting. But any night where Vucevic is raking in 36 points on 21 field goal attempts with just one turnover, the Bulls are going to win more often than not.