Smith: The Pacers need more from Doug McDermott

Tyler Smith November 12, 2018 1

(Doug McDermott- Photo by NBA.com)

By TYLER SMITH (@TylerSmith_ISL)
ISL Editor

INDIANAPOLIS — Doug McDermott was brought to Indiana to be a 3-point specialist off the bench. At times in his career, he has looked like Kyle Korver with more athleticism. Other times, he has been a forgotten man on the roster. Is he to blame for the lack of shot attempts lately, or is the system to blame? I’m going to suggest the latter.

In the first three games of the season, McDermott looked like the guy Kevin Pritchard envisioned. He averaged 12.7 points while connecting on 9-for-16 from deep, and averaged 23.3 minutes per game. He attempted five or more 3’s in each of those games. Since then? McDermott hasn’t attempted five in any game. After taking 16 3’s in the first three games, he’s only attempted 22 in the last 10. He has also only averaged 14.2 minutes per game since those first three.

“We were looking for elite shooting,” Pritchard said at McDermott’s introductory press conference. “But we were also impressed with how he moves without the ball and his spot-up shooting.”

The ball was not passed to McDermott on this trip down the floor. pic.twitter.com/2lPvSuYbMv

— Tony East (@TEastNBA) November 12, 2018

It’s not like McDermott is struggling with his shot. His FG%, 3-point %, and e-FG% are all higher this season compared to his career averages. If you take out the first three games, he’s taking less 3-point attempts per game (2.2) than any year of his career outside of his rookie season.

For a team that is 28th in the NBA in 3-point attempts per game (24.6), it’s clear that one of their only sharp-shooters is being under utilized.

So what can be done?

Wouldn’t it make sense to give McDermott more time with Oladipo? Wouldn’t it make sense to run more sets for McDermott and actually get the guy some screens? The Pacers have been too ISO-oriented in the early going. That’s not going to benefit McDermott unless he’s spotting up with Oladipo doing work.

Some low-hanging fruit to help the Pacers offense improve: have Doug McDermott cut more. Look what happens when they get him moving: pic.twitter.com/qeg4AAZ8C4

— Pacers Film Room (@PacersFilmRoom) November 5, 2018

It’s still early in the season. McDermott probably deserves some of the blame. Several players are still learning how to play with each other. But this much is clear- For any team to be successful, you have to put players in the best position to succeed. He has the talent to be one of the best 3-point shooters in the game. The Pacers need to figure this out sooner than later.