Film Festival Series: Part 2 with Doug McDermott – Quiet Potential
By Gideon Lim
1. Shooting motion
When Doug McDermott is not spotting up from the 3-point line, he is probably attacking off the catch. I started looking at his film, and it became clear that McDermott favors driving to his right. Look at how he has this habit of swinging his right leg forward in the middle of his shot.
It is unconventional, but he makes those shots consistently enough. Maybe he needs that extra kick to stabilize himself. But, look at this play where he is essentially making the same play. Observe his shooting motion. That right leg swing comes back again, which is okay. But, look how his left leg almost has a secondary kick after he shoots.
All season long, McDermott’s biggest issue has been being consistent with his shooting. If he can cut down on these irregular shooting habits, it will go a long way to improving his rhythm.
2. Shot selection
Another thing McDermott can work on is his shot selection. As a shooter, his mechanics are generally sound. The next step forward is to avoid bad shots that might disrupt his game-to-game form.
Before anti-Daryl Morey fans start bashing me, I’m not against McDermott taking any mid-range shots. Here, I’m looking specifically at shots 3-10 feet from the basket.
The advance stats show that McDermott is a good-to-excellent shooter from everywhere on the court except from 3-10 feet. Despite that, McDermott actually took 5% more of his shots in this range compared to when he was in Chicago.
The eye test backs the stats up – McDermott should keep shots from 3-10 feet to a minimum. He makes the basket here, but it’s a tough runner over three defenders. Even with his length, the Thunder don’t have enough spacing to make this shot a staple for him.
To be clear, McDermott is not a shameless gunner who spends his game time taking wild chucks. These shots are still a minority for him. But, my suggestion is McDermott should either pull up earlier in his mid-range drives to avoid the crowded area, or bang in all the way.
After all, does anyone not remember McDermott’s reputation in the Windy City for his sneaky hops?
Speaking of which, look at this next clip, where McDermott drives into the paint, but finds Rudy Gobert waiting there for him.
Again, he makes the shot, but this is another example of a bad option. Enes Kanter was open for a simple dump-off, but McDermott chose to go for the acrobatic finish. It’s a win for the highlight reel, but better ball sense next time, Dougie.
3. Defensive instincts
On the other end of the court, Doug McDermott’s challenge is simple – move his feet well and stay with his man. This clip here sums up McDermott as a defender.
Last week, I explained in detail why McDermott was at fault for Taj Gibson getting posterized. Essentially, McDermott got caught by a screen, took a long route and ended up losing his man. Gibson tried to cover for him, but he is no match for Brandon Ingram’s insane wingspan.
One of the most talked-about things after the Thunder got bounced from the playoffs was Billy Donovan hinting at McDermott playing more small ball next season. The idea is that with McDermott covering big men, he can avoid chasing mobile wings around the perimeter.
McDermott got his first taste of covering power forwards against the Houston Rockets in the playoffs. Unfortunately, the Space City crew put him in a pick-and-roll blender and spun him inside out.
McDermott’s effort in hedging on the James Harden pick-and-roll is admirable. However, the execution is cringe-worthy. Normally, the big man’s job is to step out as the ball-handler turns the corner to slow him and bump him away from middle penetration.
Instead, McDermott overdoes the hedging. He almost ends up trapping Harden by hedging so high on the screen. The problem is he gets on the wrong side, and pushes Harden towards the middle. Harden exploits the mistake and makes the simple pass to Ryan Anderson. 3 points blown.
I doubt Donovan is going to make small-ball a staple, so McDermott doesn’t have to worry about getting Kanter-ed. But, the defensive blueprint for him remains – improve on defensive instincts and learn to stick with off-the-ball movement.