If you're going to pick the biggest dark horse this season, it's the Chicago Bulls. This summer, after successively getting deRozan, Lonzo Ball, Caruso and other powerful stars, the team unexpectedly ushered in rapid progress. The Bulls have now achieved a record of 38 wins and 21 losses, ranking first in the East along with the Heat. The biggest contributor is undoubtedly DeRozan, who played well, averaging 28.1 points, 5.2 rebounds and 5.1 assists per game at the age of 32, shooting 51.7% from the field, a proper MVP-level performance.
However, in addition to DeRozan, the performances of Raven, Bauer, Dossem, Kobe Wyant and others can not be ignored, of course, there is also the team's internal pillar - Nikola Vucevic. After a large number of new signings arrived, he gave up a lot of the ball, but helped the team play the best season, which is also indispensable, so how important is Vucevic to this team? Let's reveal them all.
1. The offensive end is divided into balls, and the personal threat does not fall but rises
After DeRozan came to the team, there was a Raven as a possession point, so to play DeRozan's greatest function, it was necessary to sacrifice the ball of others, and Vucevic became that victim. This season, he's averaging 18.2 points per game, his last five seasons' lowest, and his average shooting power has also dropped to 16.2 shots per game, but in exchange for the team's leading shots and three-point shooting rate across the league. Another point that must be noted is the personal characteristics of Vucevic, as one of the representative centers of the small-ball era, Vucevic's range covers almost the entire three-point line and beyond.
He can easily score points under the basket with delicate feel and footsteps, and the shooting rate of 61.1% under the basket is enough to illustrate his efficiency. In addition, he can also pull up to the three-point line to shoot three points, for such a large man, the average hit 1.5 three-pointers per game is also quite good, can be inside and outside the characteristics, for the players who defend him is quite a headache.
In addition, it must be mentioned that he cooperated with DeRozan and Lavin. Both stars are players with top-notch ball-holding offensive abilities, so they need a certain amount of space, and Vucevic is such a player, he can quickly pull to the outside line, create enough room for them to break through, and wait for the opportunity to shoot three points when they encounter a bag clip. It can also help to plan and create scoring opportunities for the team.
Who can not love Vucevic's performance? More importantly, with his flexibility and extremely high ball quotient, he is also a key link that connects the team's high and low positions and the strong and weak sides, and the rare vision of the big man is vividly displayed by him.
2. The defensive end is an underestimated ability to carry the team's defense
In the impression, Vucevic's defense seems to have always been relatively average. However, his defense is definitely a mainstay of the team today. Although the team's outside defense has indeed strengthened a lot after the introduction of Caruso and Bauer, the inside line still needs to rely on Vucevic. He averaged 11.7 rebounds per game, fifth in the league, and third in the league with 9.7 rebounds in the backcourt.
Whether it is the data, or the performance on the court, you can see his excellent sense of rebounding card slots, ranking seventh in the entire league to fight for data, proving his value on the defensive end. In addition, his defensive coverage is also quite good, for the interference of two-point shooting, he also did a very perfect job, and took advantage of the inherent high ball dealer in Europe's inner line, repeatedly prejudged the opponent's pass, and ambushed the ball in advance.
Averaging 1 steal and 1.2 blocks per game is a testament to his motivation on the defensive end, which is where his value lies in this Bulls team.
3. The key moment is not soft, and the real All-Star level inside line
In the 18-19 season, Vucevic played the "20+12" data in the regular season, but in the playoffs, the data was directly reduced to "11+8", and the shooting rate was even worse by 36.2%, which caused many questions, after all, All-Star players should not play such a performance. In the playoffs the following year, he averaged 28 points, 11 rebounds and 4 assists per game, punching the skeptics in the face. This season, after sacrificing the ball, he was not very accustomed to his new role, and doubts were once again everywhere. However, in the last 8 games, in the absence of a major general,
Vucevic regained the ball, averaging 25.3 points, 13.6 rebounds and 4.1 assists per game, shooting 59 percent from the field, which can be said to have punched the skeptics in the face. Especially in the win over the Spurs, he scored 25 points, 16 rebounds and 5 assists, almost dominating the offensive and defensive ends of the interior. With his playoff experience, he will not be soft at all at key moments, which is definitely the biggest treasure for this Bulls team!