Story by
Nikola Vucevic Talks Points of Improvement for Magic
- Story by
- Nikola Vucevic Talks Points of Improvement for Magic
(© Petre Thomas-Imagn Images)
The Orlando Magic kicked off their preseason with a 122-118 win over the Memphis Grizzlies on Wednesday, and they would not have been able to do it without center Nikola Vucevic.
Vucevic made strong contributions off the bench in the win as he knocked down all three of his perimeter attempts for nine points, while also grabbing three rebounds and logging a steal and a blocked shot. The Magic reunited with Vucevic to give the bench another productive veteran, and he is demonstrating early why that was the correct choice.
Advertisement
On Saturday, Orlando had a shootaround at the Advent Health Training Center ahead of their Sunday matchup against the Cleveland Cavaliers on the road. After Sean Sweeney and Jase Richardson provided their thoughts on Wednesday's performance, Vucevic chimed in with what he believed the team needed to improve.
In Vucevic's view, rebounding is a point of emphasis. He said that he believed the team did a good job during the initial defensive possessions, but he said they did not close them out on the boards.
The Magic ended the game with 15 offensive rebounds to the Grizzlies' 13, and they grabbed 52 rebounds overall, while Memphis secured 40. Still, Vucevic would like to see them do better in that area.
All told, the veteran big man thought that the Magic did pretty well, given the new system and new coaching staff they are trying to get used to. He knows that it will never be perfect, but their execution was a step in the right direction.
Advertisement
Vucevic also pointed to the buy-in that the team has had in head coach Sean Sweeney's system. He said that when star players like Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner are buying in, then everyone else follows suit.
For Vucevic individually, he said it felt good to find his spots on the floor and continue to build chemistry with his teammates. Some of his teammates who were absent from Wednesday's game included Anthony Black, Noah Penda and Jalen Suggs.
In the case of Black and Penda, they were recovering from minor injuries , while Suggs was recovering from an illness. Despite their time away from the court, Vucevic praised their work ethic and knows that they will get up to speed quickly once they return.
Already, Vucevic is showing the type of positive impact he will have on this group. On the latest episode of the Full Court Magic Podcast, I talked about the importance of Vucevic, especially as a reserve big man.
