“It was very difficult to see him go down like that again, especially the same knee,” said Nikola Vucevic, who saw the injury occur from the Magic bench area. “He was looking great, actually. We were all very happy for him mainly just because he’s a great guy and great teammate. We all have a lot of respect for him, and so for him to go down like that was very difficult to see, especially when you know that he had just came back.”
Nikola Vucevic Rumors
All NBA Players
Position: C
Born: 10/24/90
Height: 6-11 / 2.11
Weight:240 lbs. / 108.9 kg.
Salary: $28,000,000
Born: 10/24/90
Height: 6-11 / 2.11
Weight:240 lbs. / 108.9 kg.
Salary: $28,000,000
David Baumann: The @Orlando Magic pile on 128 points in a 10-point win over the @Brooklyn Nets today… Magic 53% FGs. 36% 3s. 89% FTs. 24 for Fournier. 22 for Vooch. 16 for Isaac. Box score below >>> #MagicAboveAll pic.twitter.com/HvqaRRfZqv
Josh Robbins: (2/2) Evan Fournier: Justice Melvin Frazier Jr.: Equality Markelle Fultz: Respect Us Aaron Gordon: Freedom Nikola Vucevic: Equality
Individual circumstances present further challenges. Augustin’s father-in-law died recently, adding to the strain of an extended road trip away from his wife, Brandy, and their three young children. The wife of Orlando guard Evan Fournier returned to their native France with the couple’s 13-month-old son to stay with Fournier’s parents while he focuses on the N.B.A. restart. Vucevic’s wife is due with their second child in November, prompting the 2019 All-Star center’s parents to fly in from Montenegro to help Nikoleta Vucevic take care of the couple’s 19-month-old son. “That was actually huge for me to know that I’m not leaving her alone,” Vucevic said. “It would have been a much harder decision for me to play if she was alone and pregnant, with another baby to care of every day.”
Orlando will be one of 22 NBA teams finishing the regular season and potentially competing in the playoffs at Disney in late July. “I can say that for all my teammates, we are all very excited,’’ Vucevic said on Thursday afternoon. “Once we heard the news, we were all texting in a group chat about it and talked all about it. By keeping in touch, we all wanted to come back and finish the season. So, we’re all very excited about it. Now that we know how much time that we have before it starts, we’re ready to put in the work.’’
Vucevic is hopeful that fans can still enjoy watching games on television and that sports can help heal a nation fractured in recent months and weeks by death, sickness and protests over racial inequality. “For everybody, it’s great that the NBA is going to be back. Mainly for the fans, people have gone through a lot – first, with the virus and now with everything that’s happened in the last two weeks with George Floyd, I think it will be great for people to have basketball to watch and support,’’ Vucevic said. “Unfortunately, nobody will be able to be there to watch us and we’ll miss the fans. One of the best things is to play in packed areas, 20,000 fans coming to support us, but it is what it is with this situation and we’ll try to make the best of it.”
“When I saw the video of what happened, I was angry and disappointed to see that something like that can still happen in our country,’’ Vucevic said. “The movement and the response after that has been great, it is time for a change and enough is enough. Racism has no place on this planet, we’re all humans, we’re all the same and there should be no difference between us because of our skin color. “I was lucky enough to grow up in Belgium and two of my best friends were African and another one was Asian,’’ Vucevic added. “While growing up, I never looked at them any differently because of their skin color. I never understood that and it’s sad to see that we still have that (racism) today. But I think this movement, hopefully, can educate people, older and younger, and change came come because it’s much-needed.’’
Tim Reynolds: Orlando’s Nikola Vucevic, post-workout today: “It felt good to be back here and get some work in. But I still want you guys to stay safe, be smart, listen to the experts. It’s still a dangerous time for everybody. But be safe, listen to the experts and I’ll see you soon.”
Vucevic said he went about three weeks without being able to shoot until a neighbor installed an outdoor hoop and let him use it. “It was so much fun because I haven’t done it in a while,” Vucevic said. “You obviously miss it, but until you actually do it again, you don’t realize how much. It’s kind of like when I was little and I would just go in front of my house and just play — for hours. It reminds me of that.”
How are you staying in shape? Nikola Vucevic: I’m trying to diversify everything that I do. I’ve been lifting weights a lot. That’s something that I usually do, anyway, so I’ve tried to stay on top of that. I’ve done a lot of biking on the Peloton or the bike that I ride around my neighborhood. I bought a rowing machine. Those are great, fun workouts. And I just started running a week ago; I ran a couple of times. So I’m just trying to do different things and maintain as much as I can. It’s just not the same as when we practice as a team or play or get in the gym. But you try to do anything that you can.
Have you been able to shoot a basketball? Do you have a basketball hoop near your house? Nikola Vucevic: Well, I do shoot hoops with my son on his little basket. We’ll play one-on-one. He’ll try to get the ball from me, and I usually always score on him, which helps with my confidence. I’m just kidding. But I do play around with him. I’ll dribble, and he’ll try to run after the ball. So that’s fun.
Nikola Vucevic: Actually, my neighbor has a hoop. So sometimes I’ll go and shoot there. At first, I hadn’t shot the ball in three weeks or so, and when he got the hoop and he texted me. I went over to shoot a little bit, and I felt like a kid to just be shooting after so long. It was just so fun for me to get shots up a little bit and play around and do some things. So I’ll shoot here and there. But I don’t want to bother him all the time, obviously.
But the big thing I keep coming back to is this: The Magic need to shake things up with this roster, in my view. They have interesting pieces, it’s just that all of those pieces don’t fit all that well together. In my mind, their three best players are Nikola Vucevic, Isaac and Aaron Gordon. And unfortunately, you can’t play all three of those guys together at once at their optimal effectiveness. And in the backcourt, they still don’t have nearly enough playmaking and shot-making. That makes them ripe for a trade to try and move some of that talent from the frontcourt to the backcourt potentially. To me, Gordon is the odd man out, and I think they could actually get a pretty real trade package for him with two years left on his deal at a very reasonable cost due to the descending structure of his contract. That’s the route I’d look at, despite the fact that I think Gordon is probably the second-best asset on the roster behind Isaac.
The Magic still need Vucevic at center for all he brings on the offense side of the floor. Unless the team received a star-quality player in return, I do not think it would make sense to trade Vucevic. Vucevic can help youngsters like Isaac and Fultz develop at a reasonable pace.
Nikola Vucevic: Have questions about the coronavirus? The @NBA has great resources from @cdcgov & @WHO: http://coronavirus.nba.com
The description of Augustin as “by far the worst player” and the 12 likes the question received on Twitter angered Vucevic when he read the mailbag Friday, and he was still so irate after Sunday’s victory that he addressed the subject after he was asked by a reporter from the team website about Augustin’s performance against the Rockets. “I saw Josh did a Q&A with fans, and they were all going at D.J. and saying all this stupid stuff,” Vucevic said. “They have no idea. I mean, they’re just saying stupid stuff. They have no idea. They were just saying stupid stuff that made no sense and calling him the ‘worst player’ and this and that. As a ‘Pure Magic’ fan, you don’t say things like that. Honestly, it pissed me off because I know D.J., how much he cares and how much of a pro he is and how much he’s given (to the team).”
The description of Augustin as “by far the worst player” and the 12 likes the question received on Twitter angered Vucevic when he read the mailbag Friday, and he was still so irate after Sunday’s victory that he addressed the subject after he was asked by a reporter from the team website about Augustin’s performance against the Rockets. “I saw Josh did a Q&A with fans, and they were all going at D.J. and saying all this stupid stuff,” Vucevic said. “They have no idea. I mean, they’re just saying stupid stuff. They have no idea. They were just saying stupid stuff that made no sense and calling him the ‘worst player’ and this and that. As a ‘Pure Magic’ fan, you don’t say things like that. Honestly, it pissed me off because I know D.J., how much he cares and how much of a pro he is and how much he’s given (to the team).”
Jorge Sierra: No dunk titles for Gordon, but he will get a lot of sympathy out of this. That’s worth something. Nikola Vucevic: That’s worth nothing when you get robbed twice
David Baumann: Lookie here back to back wins for the @Orlando Magic. ✅Near trip-dub for AG 25-9-9. ✅Fultz w 21-10-5. ✅19-11-7 for Vooch. 116-112 OT win over the @Detroit Pistons #MagicAboveAll
Josh Robbins: Final: Magic 135, Hawks 126 Vucevic: 24 pts., 9 rebs. 9 assts. Gordon: 26 pts., 9 rebs., 4 assts. Fultz: 13 pts., 1 reb., 8 assts., 0 turnovers Young: 29 pts., 1 reb., 9 assts., 4 turnovers 3-pointers: Magic 18/38, Hawks 16/37
Josh Robbins: Final: Knicks 105, Magic 103. Randle: 22 pts., 8 rebs., 4 assts. Vucevic: 25 pts., 8 rebs., 3 assts. Turnovers: Knicks 14 (22 pts.), Magic 21 (17 pts.).
Josh Robbins: Final: Thunder 120, Magic 114. Schröder: 31 pts., 3 rebs., 9 assts. Ross: 26 pts., 3 rebs., 2 assts. Vucevic: 24 pts., 11 rebs., 5 assts. Carter-Williams: 15 pts., 2 rebs., 3 assts. FG%: Thunder 61%, Magic 47%.
But each time James made a play to cut the Lakers’ deficit, Fultz responded on the ensuing Magic trip down the floor. Fultz assisted on a 3-pointer by Nikola Vucevic, scored on a nifty reverse layup and, after James cut Orlando’s lead to one point, faked out James in the lane with a spin move and then made a bank shot. “I’ve been supportive of him ever since he was in high school (and) came through as a rookie in Philly, been supportive through his situation and still (am) to this day,” James said after the game. “I’m happy as hell for him.”
John Denton: According to the NBA’s Last 2 Minute report, @Phoenix Suns G Devin Booker should have been called for a foul when @Orlando Magic C Nikola Vucevic posted up with 22.1 seconds left. Down 2, Vucevic lost the ball after “Booker (PHX) wraps Vucevic (ORL) in the post,” per the L2M report.
Josh Robbins: Final: Magic 101, Nets 89. Fultz: 25 pts. (new career high), 5 rebs., 4 assts. Vucevic: 11 pts., 23 rebs., 4 assts. Gordon: 11 pts., 14 rebs., 1 asst. 3-pointers: Magic 8/26, Nets 10/47 (record for 3-point misses by a Magic opponent)
D.J. Augustin scored a season-high 25 points, Nicola Vucevic added 20 points and 12 rebounds and the Orlando Magic beat the Washington Wizards 122-101 on Wednesday night. Bradley Beal, who missed the previous two games with soreness in his right leg, led Washington with 27 points. The Magic snapped a four-game road losing streak.
30 Dec 19
Josh Robbins: Nikola Vucevic, who has missed Orlando’s last 11 games due to a sprained ankle, will be active and available to play this afternoon against New Orleans, Magic officials said.
Josh Robbins: Today, in his first game since Nov. 20, Nikola Vucevic likely will not play his normal minute allotment, Steve Clifford said. The team’s sports medicine specialists will watch Vucevic closely.
Vucevic, who has been out since his ankle buckled on him in Toronto three weeks ago, went through light practice sessions on Wednesday and Friday mornings and a non-contact practice on Thursday in hopes of getting back by Friday to face the Houston Rockets. Instead, Vucevic will practice with his teammates once more on Saturday and shoot for a Sunday return. “He’s got to feel comfortable that he can go out and play, that’s it,’’ Clifford said. “It’s as simple as that.’’
Josh Robbins: Magic officials said Markelle Fultz (stomach virus) will be available to play against the Rockets tonight. Nikola Vucevic (ankle sprain) will not play tonight.
Josh Robbins: Nikola Vucevic (ankle) will not play tonight against the Lakers, Steve Clifford said. But Vucevic is making progress, and there is a chance that Vucevic will play Friday when the Magic host the Rockets, Clifford said.
Josh Robbins: Asked about his recovery from a right-ankle sprain, Nikola Vucevic said he has started to do some limited running on the court. Vucevic suffered the injury on Nov. 20. Tonight’s game in Cleveland will be the eighth consecutive game he has missed due to the injury.
Nikola Vucevic out a month at least
Shams Charania: Orlando Magic All-Star center Nikola Vucevic will miss a minimum of four weeks with right ankle injury, league sources tell @The Athletic @Stadium.
