On Sunday night’s Bill Simmons Podcast with Bill and Zach Lowe, there was tons of talk about the Celtics and their big win over the Lakers on Sunday. The vibes were high as they discussed Jaylen Brown’s emergence as an MVP candidate, their dynamic young wing defenders, and how one of Payton Pritchard or Derrick White is able to give them enough from the backcourt on a nightly basis.
But when the conversation turned to Jayson Tatum and his impending return, there was a bit of a side tangent on Nikola Vucevic, which really captured the mood around Big Vooch. Bill continued to indicate that he doesn’t believe the Celtics would have made the trade without the expectation that Tatum is coming back, but when Zach asked him about the Vucevic experience so far, he was lukewarm, at best.
Simmons opined that sometimes it looks great, but other nights, Vooch looks 35 years old (and not in a good way). He suggested that the Celtics would have beaten LA by even more if they had played Luka Garza instead of Vooch, and suggested he won’t be reminiscing about this trade with his grandparents in the future.
Overall, this is pretty much how all Cs fans should feel about the deal. The immediate reaction was disappointment with dealing away Anfernee Simons for a washed-up big man, then everyone talked themselves into it, convincing themselves that Vooch would be invigorated and find the fountain of youth in Boston.Â
Vucevic can't be relied on every night
The reality is somewhere in between. Adding Vooch gives the team a new dynamic, and his scoring, spacing, and passing have already proven helpful at times. Creating diversity is good, and that’s exactly what the Celtics did. There will likely be a playoff moment or two where Vucevic comes off the bench and makes a big impact.
Conversely, there have been some matchups where he looks slow and overwhelmed. He hasn’t held up that well against physicality, and there have been a couple of times where it has been frustrating watching him fail to attack mismatches with the proper level of force. There will likely be a playoff moment or two where he gets played off the floor.
And that’s okay. The Cs made a calculated bet that the pros of a guy like Vooch off the bench outweighed those provided by Simons. The bet will look even better if Tatum is able to eventually come back and take over some more perimeter duties, and it will look even better if they can bring him back on a team-friendly deal.
But Vucevic is not a game-changer who’s vaulting this team over the top. He was a solid addition on the margins and a helpful bench vet to go to war with, but he’s a far cry from the All-Star player he was once upon a time.