Nikola Vucevic started to look like Nikola Vucevic last night. His shot finally started to fall after a pretty extended cold streak. In the wake of the understandable & long-standing question of whether he's the better backup five for the Boston Celtics than Luka Garza, that's a good development for him to do both against one of the Celtics' biggest rivals.
However, Vucevic's impact is starting to show itself in ways than the box score won't show, and this impact didn't start against the Knicks. Dating back to the Celtics' previous game against the Hornets, Vucevic has played hand in the Celtics' two most effective lineups against two of their more formidable foes.
Let's start with the Hornets game since that was technically one of Vooch's worst games in Boston, shooting one-for-10 while also missing all five of his three-point attempts. Yet, despite all of that, he finished with a plus/minus of plus-one.
How'd that happen? Well, with the Celtics up three at the start of the fourth quarter, they re-inserted Vucevic for Neemias Queta. Obviously, Vucevic didn't go on a scoring tear, but he was subbed out with a minute and a half to go with Boston's lead increased to 12 when he went back to the bench.
One could argue it was merely a coincidence. However, the score going from 90-87 to 110-98 in 10.5 minutes seems telling because it was the lethal Hornets fighting like hell to get a playoff spot, and yet Vucevic's presence proved to be a boost despite being cold as ice.
If you're still convinced, take a good look at last night's loss to the Knicks. Lost in the epic battle was the fact that New York looked like it was pulling away in the third quarter when Vucevic was put back into the game, with Boston down by 11 with seven minutes and 22 seconds to go. In fact, on the first possession he subbed in, they were down 13.
And yet, before the quarter was over, not only did the Celtics take the lead, but at one point, they were up by four. A 17-point turnaround all while Vucevic was in the game. If you still think that's a coincidence, you're entitled to your opinion, but it's fair to believe from this data that he played a role in Boston's hot stretch and in different ways.
The next hurdle for Vucevic is obvious: consistency
Again, the Vucevic/Garza debate will rage on because there is some validity to it in that Garza has proven his worth, meaning Vucevic has a mountain to climb to prove Joe Mazzulla is right to lean towards. However, these last two games have subtly proven why he's leaning towards Vucevic.
He is a presence that opponents fear. The fact that he's done this against two opponents who are legitimately good also shows his previous vanishing act might be a thing of the past. However, with the little time left in the season, he has to prove he can do this over the course of a game, not just for part of it.
And we also have to remember how big of an adjustment this all is for Vucevic. He's never played for a contender and he's only just getting used to coming off the bench. This is a lot to take in, and his badly-timed injury hastened the timeline for him to fit in.
It may not be readily apparent, but the two-time star is giving Boston results. Plus now, there's optimism that it can get better from here!