Feb. 12, 2026, 4:23 p.m. ET
As is often the case, the first game that new Boston Celtics big man Nikola Vucevic played with the Celtics did not go as smoothly as fans might have hoped. But once the Montenegrin center had gotten a practice with Boston in under his belt, the strengths of what he brings to the Celtics became much clearer on his way toward putting up a double-double off the bench vs. the team that traded him to Boston, the Chicago Bulls.
After the Celtics blew out the Bulls 124-105, Boston head coach Joe Mazzulla weighed in on the marked improvement in Vucevic’s game, saying that the former Chicago center was looking “much more comfortable today, really.”
“His pick and roll positioning defensively was good, really good, just the reads,” added the Celtics coach.
“And then offensively, the reads were good, spacing, understanding where he is, the early offense reads, offensive execution, (he) just felt much more comfortable out there,” said Mazzulla.
“So, it’s always good to get out and practice and be able to do that, and he values the details and wants to get it right. So, he has put a lot of preparation into it and it looked much better tonight,”
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