In the offseason improvement series, we’ll take a look at each player on the OKC Thunder roster and determine what they need to improve on. Doug McDermott is up.
Doug McDermott just finished up his third season in the NBA and it was a disappointing one to say the least. He saw dips in his points-per-game, field goal percentage, three-point percentage, free-throw percentage, player efficiency rating, and box plus/minus from year two to year three.
McDermott has yet to turn into the three-point marksman he was said to be coming out of college. Let’s take a look at what he can do to make the leap and become a viable rotation player for the Thunder next season.
Defense
To put it lightly, McDermott is not a very good defender. This past season he posted a defensive rating of 112 and a defensive box plus/minus of -2.3. The tape doesn’t help McDermott either. When he plays off the ball he often finds himself out of place and he’s usually slow to rotate. On the ball he doesn’t possess much defensive skill either. He’s not laterally quick and players of greater athletic ability often blow by him with ease.
Coming into the NBA, most knew McDermott wouldn’t be a great defender. He has improved a little but he’s still got a long way to go. Learning how to better play off the ball this offseason would greatly benefit him on the defensive end next season.
Shooting Consistency
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Everyone knows McDermott can shoot the lights out but he’s yet to do so in the NBA. His three-point percentage spiked from 32 percent in his rookie year to 43 percent in his sophomore year. That’s a big improvement but he then dipped back down to a still respectable 37 percent this past season.
McDermott is going to have to find his shooting stroke more consistently if he wants to see more minutes. One way to go about this may be learning how to better move without the ball. Klay Thompson, another three-point marksman, is a master at moving without the ball. McDermott would be best served watching how Thompson works off the ball and then attempting to mimic it next season.
Conclusion
Doug McDermott is still just 25-years-old and has a lot of basketball ahead of him. If he can find a way to improve his defense and shooting consistency he could see a large uptick in minutes next season.