The Orlando Magic may find themselves on the receiving end of a torrent of Montenegrin rage if they aren’t careful.
Magic big man Nikola Vucevic was brought off the bench in Sunday’s 104-96 loss to the Milwaukee Bucks and said afterwards that he was far from pleased with the decision.
“I spoke to [head coach] Frank [Vogel] about it last night, and obviously I wasn’t happy with the decision they made,” said Vucevic, per Zach Oliver of Orlando Pinstriped Post. “I didn’t think that there was a reason for me to go to the bench, but it’s coaches decision. All I can do is control what I can control, which is when I’m on the court, play to the best of my ability and help the team win. Stay professional and whatever is going on, I’ll keep giving my best and give them my full effort.”
Some sort of frontcourt rejiggering was to be expected for a sub-.500 Magic team that brought in Serge Ibaka, Bismack Biyombo, and Jeff Green this offseason to compete for minutes with Vucevic and Aaron Gordon. But Vucevic, who has started 299 of a possible 341 games in his career, has been perhaps the best of the bunch this season with averages of 12.1 points, 11.6 rebounds, and 2.5 assists per game.
Vogel certainly hasn’t been afraid to get creative with his lineups, but keeping all of his players satisfied is proving to be a much tougher tightrope walk.
Image via Adam Papageorgiou on YouTube
