The Chicago Bulls are off to a 7-3 start in the 2021-22 season, which is tied for the best record in the Eastern Conference. They're one of four teams ranked in the top 10 in offense and defense.
The defensive success has been one of the early surprises of this season, but it's also notable that they're top 10 in offense. They've managed to do this despite All-Star Nikola Vucevic getting off to a truly woeful start with his shooting.
Vucevic hasn't been a total disaster, because he's still grabbing 11.0 rebounds a game and is handing out a career-high 4.3 assists per game. His defense has also been solid relative to expectations.
But his scoring woes have been prolific. Vucevic is averaging just 13.2 points while taking 14.3 shots per game. He's at 37.8% from the field and 26.2% from 3-point range. He's a career 49.4% shooter overall and shot 40.0% from 3-point range last season between the Bulls and Orlando Magic.
Perhaps the most shocking aspect of Vucevic's slump are the struggles around the basket. He's just 15-of-37 inside the restricted area, which is unfathomable for a skilled player of his size.
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On the latest episode of Blue Wire's Cash Considerations, Ricky O'Donnell talked about some of the concerns with Vucevic:
“It's not just that he's missing everything in sight, though it is that, it's also that he's shooting a lot. He's third on the team in field goal attempts per 100. That's probably where he's going to remain the entire year. True shooting percentage of 43.7. That's just not a good true shooting percentage. … He's like 11 points behind league average in true shooting percentage. … He has been brutal, brutal offensively.
“Are you worried that maybe this is like a Chuck Knoblauch situation, a Markelle Fultz situation, and Vooch just isn't going to be able to score efficiently anymore? Because, some of these shots just aren't even close and he's like 5 feet away from the rim.”
The Bulls gave up a lot for Vucevic before last season's trade deadline, sending Wendell Carter Jr., Otto Porter Jr. and a pair of first-round picks to the Magic in the deal. Chicago also took on Al-Farouq Aminu in the trade. The Bulls are expecting a lot out of the two-time All-Star, and they're going to need him to round into form if they're going to reach their goals.
One has to imagine Vucevic will find his way out of his slump soon, but it has been painful watching him struggle through this.
Listen to the full Cash Considerations episode here:
Cash Considerations: A Chicago Bulls Podcast is part of the Blue Wire Podcast Network. The pod can be found on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, Google Podcasts.
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