BOSTON — Nikola Vučević rejoined the Boston Celtics for Easter Sunday’s matchup against the Toronto Raptors. That was the plan, set nearly a month ago when he underwent surgery to stabilize his fractured right finger on March 7.
At that time, Vučević had logged 12 appearances since being acquired at February’s trade deadline. He played less than two minutes during Jayson Tatum’s return on March 6 against the Dallas Mavericks and ended up sidelined for nearly a month. While watching from the bench, there was little concern about how Vučević would mesh with the team once he returned.
“He just wants to win,” Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla said after Boston’s 115-101 win over Toronto. “He’s been in the league a long time. If anything, making sure he’s aggressive enough to where we have the best version of him, so we could add another layer to what we want to accomplish, is the most important thing.”
Vučević played 13 minutes against the Raptors, checking in for Neemias Queta with 4:57 in the first quarter. He took just five shots, finishing with four points, missing both of his two 3-point attempts, and grabbing four rebounds. It wasn’t a performance that netted Vučević a standing ovation once he checked out in the fourth quarter, but it was a step in the right direction.
Behind the scenes, Vučević had been working toward that moment, regardless of how it would end up. Getting back on the floor was more important than anything else.
“That was kinda the plan from the beginning, after I got the surgery,” Vučević shared. “We kinda had this game at the four-week mark, so we kind of had this day in mind, that’s how the plan went. I felt pretty good the week leading up to today. Did some on-court stuff with my right hand. On Friday, I was able to scrimmage a little bit, get up and down the court, and felt pretty good. You know, I just felt like it was good enough for me to get out and play.”
The Celtics added Vučević to upgrade their frontcourt depth. After the Chris Boucher signing didn’t pan out, and with Luka Garza the only other reliable big behind Queta, the front office turned to the 15-year veteran. An All-Star with a career 35.1% 3-point shooting clip, Vučević immediately added value to Boston’s roster.
So in the eyes of Mazzulla, Vučević won’t have an issue carving his place with the team.
“His role as a big is, one, defensively controlling the paint with rebounds and his pick-and-roll defense,” Mazzulla said. “And then offensively, just being dynamic too. We don’t quite know how teams will defend him, so sometimes we just have to read that in real time, right? So I think his role is just like our other fives: they’re the connectors. They’re the people that make plays for us on the offensive end with their screening, which he takes pride in. Then defensively, rebounding and controlling the paint.”
Shaking off rust, Vučević missed his first three shots, including an alley-oop from Jaylen Brown. Mazzulla wasn’t worried.
“He was fine,” Mazzulla added. “We just gotta continue to get him acclimated.”
As the longest-tenured NBA veteran in Boston’s locker room, Vučević isn’t overanalyzing his role. His focus is on keeping it simple — a direction emphasized by Mazzulla and the coaching staff — as he works to find his footing in the final four regular-season games and before the playoffs.
“Just not overthink things,” Vučević explained.
“I think that’s kind of the message that comes from Joe and the coaching staff, as well as the rest of the guys. Just trying to find my ways and be able to be myself within what we’re trying to do — within what helps us be a good team. Then as I play more alongside these guys, I learn their tendencies. They learn mine, and I think that’ll just come naturally.”
Even though Vučević’s stint in Boston hasn’t been perfect, he’s put in the work whenever he could. While recovering, he spent time off the court building rapport with his new teammates. From the moment he arrived from Chicago, before ever suiting up, Vučević was at the practice facility going over the playbook and meeting with the coaching staff.
Vučević’s commitment is about giving his teammates the best version of himself — the version Celtics fans have long wanted the front office to pursue. So like Mazzulla, he isn’t worried, especially when it comes to building his chemistry on the floor with Tatum.
“Obviously, me and JT didn’t get a lot of time together,” Vučević said. “But we’re both high-level players, both smart players, and I think we’ll be able to figure it out pretty quick. Even just being around the guys during the time I did play, I think that’s helped a lot. Obviously, it would’ve been great to have that full month that I missed, but it is what it is. We’ll try to make the best of it over the next couple of games, and I also think that week leading up to the playoffs is going to help.”
