Bulls center Nikola Vucevic has been solid defensively, and the numbers back it up

SALT LAKE CITY — For Bulls coach Billy Donovan, the numbers and the eyes don’t lie.

He said Wednesday that Nikola Vucevic has been one of the team’s better defenders the last three years.

Entering the game against the Jazz, Vucevic (113.8) was behind only Andre Drummond (105.8) and Alex Caruso (112.6) in defensive rating, and he hasn’t been lower than the top four the previous three seasons, including 2021-22, when he led the team with a 109.6 rating.

Many fans like to criticize Vucevic’s defense because he’s not a prolific shot-blocker, but they’re missing the big picture, Donovan said.

“One of the things we’ve kind of gotten away from is just being straight drop with him just because the guard gets screened, it’s so hard for a big that’s back when you got a guy coming at him with a head of steam,” Donovan said. “When the ball has come downhill, he’s done a pretty good job of going vertical. He’s always been an elite defensive rebounder. Being a veteran, he’s seen so many of these guys, and he’s diligent in his work.

“He’s not going to be as good as [Timberwolves center] Rudy Gobert in drop, but we felt comfortable switching with him in certain situations and putting him on different guys, and he understands how to gap and move his feet. He’s a smart defender. I would say he’s played very well for us defensively.”

That is manifested in the top-five defensive rating the Bulls had as a team last season and the top-13 defensive rating they’ve showcased since their dismal 5-14 start this season.

In Donovan’s estimation, Vucevic’s understanding of what’s being asked of him and his high IQ are a big reason why.

“I would say Vooch is pretty disciplined, and the thing that’s great about him is you can have different coverages on a given possession because of his IQ,” Donovan said. “Maybe he’s up, maybe he traps, maybe he kind of comes up and goes back, tries to mix it up a little bit. His IQ is really good, so I think that’s what has continued to help him evolve as a big guy.”

The other end?

Vucevic’s three-point percentage hasn’t reached the point where he’s suffering through sleepless nights, but the versatile scorer did say Wednesday that he is “annoyed” by it.

Sitting at 27.5% is pretty much unacceptable, and the problem is if he knew why his shots weren’t falling from outside, he would’ve fixed it.

“Honestly, I don’t exactly know why they’re not going in as much as I’d like them to,” Vucevic said. “There are some where I shoot them too quick. I don’t get my feet under, and I can feel it as soon as it’s released, and those are the ones that look like bad misses when I rush them a little bit.

“But there are ones that I do everything right, it leaves my hand in a straight line, looks great, and it just doesn’t fall. I try not to overthink it, try to trust my work and the process of what I do every day, continue to shoot them with the idea that they will start falling.”

Help on the way?

Torrey Craig (right knee) could return to the rotation against the Warriors on Thursday, Donovan said, as long as there are no setbacks. Craig has missed the last seven games.