Celtics’ Nikola Vucevic Presents Challenge for Joe Mazzulla

The first three games after the Boston Celtics traded for big man Nikola Vucevic at the NBA deadline produced some promising results. He had 11 points and 12 rebounds for Boston in a thrilling home win that saw the Celtics rally from 20 points down to beat the Heat in his debut, and he kept that rolling with 30 points and 17 rebounds combined in his next two games.

But then the Celtics went on the road after the All-Star break, and in the four games the team played out against Western Conference teams, Vucevic was not quite the same. He averaged just 7.0 points and 6.3 rebounds on the trip, making 39.4% of his shots from the field and 11.1% of his 3-pointers.

And that’s when the questions began to emerge about whether Vucevic, who has been a starter for just about his entire 15-year career–except for his rookie season–can really be the off-the-bench center the team was hoping it was getting when Brad Stevens made the deal for him at the beginning of the month.

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Celtics Keeping Neemias Queta in Starting 5

Heading into the NBA trade deadline, there were plenty of questions about whether the Celtics would be able to find a trade for a big man, and the fact is, Vucevic was not that high on their list of desired targets. But the fact was, he was pretty much the only center available for a trade, with the exception of Ivica Zubac, whom the Clippers only traded because the Pacers offered them a chance at a Top 10 draft pick this spring.

The Celtics could not give up a package like that, and the next best option was Vucevic. The challenge, though, was that coach Joe Mazzulla wanted to keep Neemias Queta in the starting five, which meant Vucevic would be coming off the bench for the first time since he was Elton Brand’s backup in 2011.

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Celtics’ Nikola Vucevic Had Talk With Joe Mazzulla

Vucevic said he talked with Mazzulla about his role before he took the floor for the first time against the Celtics. And give him credit–Vucevic was open to whatever Boston asked him to do. For a guy joining a contender at the tail end of a career in which he has never gotten out of the first round of the postseason, that was the right attitude.

Vucevic told NBC Sports Boston, “To me, when I got to Boston, talking to Joe, he had mentioned that and I told him I was open to it. I didn’t mind if my role would be different, if I would come off the bench, if my minutes were different. He asked me to be flexible, to start off the bench and see how it goes. And figure out the minutes and everything.

“I told him I was open to all of that, it wouldn’t be an issue for me. I knew it would be an adjustment, when you start for so long—you have your routine, you go from the warm-ups straight to the intro to playing. Now, you sit on the bench a little bit. It was an adjustment.”

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Nikola Vucevic Needs to Improve

But the adjustment is not going well, not since the All-Star break and the road trip. Now, Mazzulla has a challenge on his hands. He can bench Queta and play him with the reserves, a move the might be an easy adjustment for Queta–he had only started six games in four years before this season. That might make things more comfortable for Vucevic.

The messaging wouldn’t be great there, though. Queta has done nothing to warrant losing the starting role. He would, essentially, get punished because Vucevic is playing poorly. And what happens if Vucevic (who is not a great, or even a good, defender) were to continue to struggle as a starter? Might Mazzulla cut his minutes and get the high-energy Luka Garza back in the mix?

The Celtics have a month-and-a-half to get a grip on the center spot. If things do not improve soon, Mazzulla will have some tough calls to make.

 

Sean Deveney is a veteran sports reporter covering the NBA, NFL and MLB for Heavy.com. He has written for Heavy since 2019 and has more than two decades of experience covering the NBA, including 17 years as the lead NBA reporter for the Sporting News. Deveney is the author of 7 nonfiction books, including “Fun City,” “Before Wrigley became Wrigley,” and “Facing Michael Jordan.” More about Sean Deveney