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Nikola Vucevic's on Andre Drummond's readiness to play any role that's asked of him
Nikola Vucevic has been a starter in all but one season of his 12-year career, so he has a solid grasp of what it means to be one of the top players on a team. So, when Vooch sees Andre Drummond—a man who started over 600 games in his career, most of which came when he was the star of the Detroit Pistons—coming off the bench for the Chicago Bulls, he's impressed.
Support one another
Formerly rivals who clashed in many battles in the Eastern Conference, Vucevic and Drummond are now close buddies who push one another in practice and support each other on the court. Vooch knows that Drummond could easily be frustrated with his current role, but instead, he embraces it positively.
“Him and I have a really good relationship, really support each other,” Vucevic said.
“You know it’s not easy for him to go from starter, All-Star, a 20-20 guy on some nights to having to take on a smaller role, so it says a lot about him.”
Vucevic was recently sidelined for five games when he injured the adductor. Upon his return, he still came off the bench as he was under a minute's restriction. In those seven games, Drummond reminded everyone of the player he used to be, averaging 14.0 points and 17.4 rebounds per game while shooting 56 percent from the field. Chicago also won four of those seven matches.
“Whenever he comes in like when I was injured, he plays well for us. His rebounding per minute has to be off the charts. He always stays ready, he’s always positive, and that says a lot about him and his character,” Vooch said.
Back to the bench
However, Drummond’s days as a starter are about to end as Bulls coach Billy Donovan hinted that Vucevic and Zach LaVine would be returning to the starting five this Wednesday when Chicago hosts the Houston Rockets. As impressive as Drummond’s numbers were, Donovan explained that Vucevic brings more versatility to the starting five.
“Vooch brings a different thing to the table as far as what he does offensively,” Donovan said.
Despite this adjustment, Vucevic shared he’s confident that his teammates will all be ready to play and contribute if and when their number is called—this includes Drummond.
“It’s definitely a good problem to have especially when we had quite a bit of injuries and were short-handed for quite a while,” Vucevic said.
“Definitely a positive headache for Billy. That’s one good thing about this team is no matter who went down there’s a next-man-up mentality.”
