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During Nikola Vučević’s Boston Celtics debut, both sides struggled. Three weeks ago marked the beginning of Vučević’s acclimation, and since then, his synergy has begun to take shape.
It was a stark contrast on Friday night against the Brooklyn Nets. Vučević’s offensive instincts kicked in, and decisively; he wasn’t hesitant. He was constantly in motion, whether it meant rolling to the basket or hanging around the perimeter, ready for a catch-and-shoot three. The Vučević on the floor 21 days after debuting was exactly what the organization was looking for at the trade deadline.
Checking in after Boston’s 148-111 one-sided win over Brooklyn at TD Garden, Vučević admitted he’s felt the progress take form but knows there’s still work to do.
“It’s been pretty good,” Vučević told reporters, per CLNS Media. “I’m still getting used to the offense and my new teammates, and learning their tendencies — learning my ways. At times, I overthink a little bit, which makes me hesitant and takes away my aggressiveness. And I feel like tonight I was able to put it more together, just play off my teammates.”
The synergy between Vučević and the Celtics extended beyond his comfort zone. Boston came within inches of breaking the 43-year-old record set by the 1983 San Antonio Spurs for the best single-game field-goal percentage (70.7 percent). In the fourth quarter, the Celtics hovered around 70 percent, but a few misses down the stretch left them at 66.7 percent. Still, they set the all-time mark for effective field-goal percentage (80.8 percent), surpassing last season’s Milwaukee Bucks (80.4 percent).
Vučević provided 28 points and 11 rebounds off the bench in 25 minutes, notching his third double-double in a Celtics uniform.
“Just have to find the right balance of playing my game, being aggressive, using my instincts, but make it fit within what we want to run,” he told reporters.
Vučević shot a perfect 3-of-3 from beyond the arc, pitching into a dominant night of Mazzulla-ball. The Celtics shot 64.7 percent, knocking down 22 of their 34 attempts from 3-point range.
In many ways, it looked as though Vučević had reached the final stages of his acclimation. There were no force-feeds to get him going, nor any need for patience from Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla. Vučević simply looked like himself, even though in Boston, that requires adjusting to a role off the bench rather than in the starting lineup. For many players around the league, that challenge could affect their ability to contribute.
However, Vučević has steadily turned each Boston appearance into a stepping stone — even as Mazzulla prefers not to let him get too comfortable for the team’s sake.
“I hope that he’s never completely comfortable because then we don’t get better,” Mazzulla told reporters, per CLNS Media. “But whether it’s walkthrough, whether it’s film session, whether it’s practice, we’re just constantly watching film, communicating — what do you see here? Where can we get better at? The thing with him is that because of his versatility, he’s going to see different stuff throughout, and we have to be ready to react to that as well as him.”
Vučević has functioned as something of an addition-by-subtraction acquisition. He isn’t as quick or crafty as Anfernee Simons, but he restores what the Celtics lost this past offseason: a true floor-spacing center.
Boston parted ways with Kristaps Porziņģis, Al Horford, and Luke Kornet — a trio that included two of the league’s best 3-point shooting big men. Substituting Simons for Vučević, though, reintroduces that element, while also allowing Mazzulla to slide Payton Pritchard back into his natural sixth-man role alongside Vučević, thus strengthening Boston’s depth and lineup balance.
“Every day is a day we get better,” Jaylen Brown told reporters, per CLNS Media. “So we’re continuing to find him in his spots, and allowing him to feel more comfortable is big time for our team. I think today was a great step forward. I like to see him aggressive. I think that’s a good sign for us, especially when teams are trying to double or take certain parts of the game away. I think he did a good job today.”
Mazzulla initially said that getting Vučević settled in would be a two-sided effort, required from both Vučević and his new Celtics teammates. So far, both sides have pulled their weight. Friday night’s victory reflected that effort coming to fruition, and Vučević noticed it coming together in real time.
“Tonight, everything clicked,” Vučević told reporters. “We took our time with our decisions. Everything was done with more attention to detail.”