Magic's Nikola Vucevic: Battles fouls, turnover trouble in win

Vucevic registered seven points (3-8 FG, 1-2 FT), four assists, two rebounds and one block across 27 minutes in Friday's 114-106 preseason win over the Pacers.

Analysis:

Considering how much run he saw Friday, Vucevic's stat line was disappointing, and that's even before taking into account his five turnovers and four fouls. Vucevic and the Magic frontcourt also struggled to contain Myles Turner (17 points, six boards) and Thaddeus Young (15 points, eight boards), a development that wasn't too unfamiliar last season. While Vucevic is one of the NBA's top offensive centers when he gets consistent post feeds, he remains a liability on the defensive end, which will likely result in a downgrade in playing time this season. The Magic didn't sign Bismack Biyombo to a huge contract in the offseason just to let him collect dust, so he'll likely cut heavily into Vucevic's workload in what could turn into an even timeshare between the two.