Nikola Vučević is finding a role with the Chicago Bulls that has an increased emphasis on ball movement and points in the paint

A year and a half after his arrival, the Chicago Bulls finally fit center Nikola Vučević into a role that uses the full scope of his abilities.

The Bulls never found a way to consistently work Vučević into their offense last season. But this season Vučević is making the impact the Bulls need from the All-Star center — 18.3 points, 13 rebounds and 1.5 blocks per game.

While outside shooting and downhill movement to the rim are important, one aspect of the offense is clear after four games: To sustain a well-rounded attack, the Bulls need to feed Vučević in the paint.

“I’m not a big analytics guy, but the numbers do show when you get to the paint and create shots from there, it’s a much higher percentage,” Vučević said Monday. “That’s just common sense. The defense collapses and you make one or two extra passes and they’re in rotation. You’re going to get wide-open shots. It’s something we knew we had issues with in the past and are trying to work on. So far it’s been much better than last year.”

Preventing stagnancy is a focus for the Bulls this season. Last season they often stalled on offense, relying on the individual talents of Zach LaVine and DeMar DeRozan to bail them out from a lack of creativity. But this season’s offensive approach is different, especially for Vučević.

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Point guard Ayo Dosunmu often triggers plays by dumping a pass back to Vučević, who then sparks action to either side of the arc to develop the onset of a play. That movement doesn’t pin the center down at the low block or out on a corner. Instead it rotates him down the arc, along the baseline, through the paint and back up to the top of the arc for constant rotation.

When used correctly, the result is a more explosive, efficient version of Vučević. The Bulls saw that in their win Monday against the Boston Celtics in which Vučević scored 18 points to balance the offense alongside Dosunmu (22 points) and DeRozan (25 points).

“It’s not just about establishing me inside — it’s about not getting stagnant,” Vučević said. “Last year a lot of times we would just separate and whoever had the mismatch (would) go. That’s where I think our offense got stagnant a lot.”

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Vučević’s success against the Celtics was built around the size mismatch between the teams. The Celtics boast one of the best defenses in the league, but their starting lineup doesn’t include a player taller than 6-foot-9. They rely on a switch-heavy defense to swarm opposing teams, a tactic that allowed Vučević to body up against smaller players such as Marcus Smart.

The Bulls won’t always hold the size advantage — they were challenged inside in their loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers, who used the towering duo of Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen to pound the paint.

But learning to exploit switches effectively will help the Bulls establish and sustain a better rhythm for Vučević.

“We have to be able to recognize that and get him the ball early, get him touches,” Dosunmu said. “He’s one of the best finishing bigs around the rim in the league. That’s very important.”