The Boston Celtics' title hopes don't exactly hinge on Nikola Vucevic's health, but it would be nice to see what the team fully healthy looks like with him on the team. Vucevic has never really gotten the chance to play on a team as talented as this one, and now he gets to prove if his skills truly can go into a winning team.
The Celtics have unsurprisingly persevered quite well without Vucevic, winning 10 of their last 14 games (including the game he got hurt against Dallas), but it doesn't mean they can't be better with him.
Since joining the Celtics, Boston has been plus-8.2 when he's on the floor, per NBA.com. The sample size of 12 games total isn't exactly impressive, but it shows how helpful he had been as their backup big before his injury.
It could potentially get better too, as we have yet to see how Vucevic would fare next to Tatum. Better yet, with the Celtics' death lineup most recently come to light, one can't help but wonder what would happen if Vucevic is inserted into it.
Nikola Vucevic could make their best lineup even tougher to stop
It was recently confirmed by Zach Lowe that Boston's most dangerous lineup features Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, Derrick White, Payton Pritchard, and Neemias Queta. It's a lineup that Mazzulla hasn't featured much all season, but he used it to stave off Miami when they were trying to mount a comeback.
Imagine if Vucevic was inserted into that lineup for Queta. No one is saying that Vucevic is better than Queta, but he is good enough to keep the good times coming in the event that Queta would have to go to the bench. Vucevic would make that lineup a "pick your poison" offensively, as everyone can shoot and play on or off the ball.
Vucevic isn't as good as Queta is defensively, making a group like this more flawed but also more potent (note that Boston's high net rating with him on the court has, oddly, been mostly from the defensive side). It's not about who's better than whom in this stance, but rather that both bigs bring their own qualities to the table.
Pairing Vucevic with the Jays, White, and Pritchard would make the Celtics still dominant when Queta is on the bench, thus making them more dangerous because their dominance could extend for longer.
Celtics fans have every right to be excited for what's to come in the playoffs. To think that they still have more options to stay elite shows just how terrifying they are for the league.