Film Festival Series: Part 2 with Doug McDermott – Quiet Potential
By Gideon Lim
Room for a groom
Doug McDermott clearly has talent. Certainly not a ton, but as the adage goes, shooting covers a multitude of sins.
They are not necessarily sinners, but the Thunder happens to be made up of players who tend to be a little sinful. As much as I wish the Thunder could stick to their guns all the way, I still think the team can’t run away from dosages of shooting to keep the big-man banging.
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Depending on how liberal Donovan feels he can be on the defensive end in terms of playing both Alex Abrines and McD together it could net huge results on offense. To wit, some of the best actions the Thunder can do is to get Alex Abrines to screen for McDermott or cross-screen for each other before they go for their own pin-downs. Defenses will be left scrambling after a cutter, a shooter, a big man and a ball-handler.
Looking ahead
Thunder fans should be excited about Doug McDermott’s first full season with the Thunder. He’s had a few months to mesh with the team, and having gone through the film, the mold for improvement is clear.
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On defense keep hustling and improve his defensive I.Q, especially for small-ball line-ups. If McD does this it will pay immediate dividends.. On offense, as long as he picks his moments to attack the paint, and gets involved in setting screens before camping out on the perimeter, the Thunder will start to see more wiggle room for Westbrook.
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Doug McDermott is another one of Sam Presti’s lottery pick revival projects. He may not quite be able to match up to the hype of his college days, but if he makes good on this blueprint for involvement, the Thunder could have quite an electric bench player on their hands.
If you like this Film Festival series, check out our first episode on Taj Gibson. Next week, we dive into footage of a certain Lithuanian prospect getting his feet wet in the NBA.