(670 The Score) Amid a solid start, the Bulls also have a growing concern.
Center Nikola Vucevic is mired in a shooting slump, one that continued as he shot 5-of-16 overall and 1-of-7 on 3-pointers in the Bulls' 114-105 loss to the 76ers on Saturday at the United Center. In nine games in this young season, Vucevic is now shooting 38.0% overall – well below his career average of 49.5% – and 25.6% on 3-pointers.
His struggles were one of the primary reasons the Bulls' offense was sluggish in shooting 40.2% on Saturday, when they played from behind most of the evening.
"He's a great player and he's a great team guy," coach Billy Donovan said. "I think he's really trying to figure out … how to play with a lot of different guys. He's got a lot of different guys in pick-and-roll screening actions with him. I said this I think maybe after practice the other day – we've got to all do a good job, me included, in trying different ways to find him. Again, I thought we did a better job to start the game. I thought he had some pretty good looks tonight. I thought we got him a good number of shots. It was obviously twice as many as we got him the last time we played Philly. I thought he was more involved in the offense. He's a guy that's obviously going to generate offense, create movement, get the ball to the second side. But he hasn't shot the ball well. But I think that's more of a comfort thing more than it is we'd be worried about him."
Donovan maintained that Vucevic looks confident to him despite his slump, and he added the Bulls (6-3) are looking to get Vucevic the ball in good spots as often as they can. On Saturday, that meant a few more cross screens to get Vucevic space in the post, though that didn't prove all that fruitful against a premier defender in 76ers star center Joel Embiid.
More than anything, what it boils down to is how much continuity the Bulls find with Vucevic in the pick-and-roll game, as he's their best screener and big man weapon in that action. That chemistry isn't where it needs to be yet for an overhauled roster.
"We've got to help him find a better rhythm in my opinion," Donovan said. "Because when you're in a pick-and-roll situation and you're trying to screen and then you're getting out of the screen, sometimes when you're getting it, you want to be able to get it in rhythm. There's obviously a connection to all that stuff."
Vucevic is averaging 13.4 points, a team-high 10.8 rebounds and 4.2 assists, which ranks second on the Bulls. Donovan doesn't want him to change his approach either, saying, "When he's open, he's got to shoot the ball."
That was a sentiment that star guard Zach LaVine echoed.
"Vooch is fine," LaVine said. "We're going to continue to give him the ball and show trust with that. He's an incredible player, and obviously everybody goes through ups and downs throughout the year. He's obviously in a little bit of a slump and wants to play better. I think he'll be the first one to tell you that. But we trust him. We're going to find him. We're going to fight through this. He's doing other things to continue to impact the game."
Cody Westerlund is a sports editor for 670TheScore.com and covers the Bulls. Follow him on Twitter @CodyWesterlund.
