Doug McDermott
Indiana Pacers

Player Facts

Height: 6'7"
Weight: 225lbs.

Wingspan: 6'9.25"

Date of Birth: Jan. 3, 1992
College Experience: Creighton (4 years)

Selections

All Star: 0
All-NBA: 0
All-Defensive: 0

Player Grades

Speed/Explosiveness: 7
Physical Strength: 6
Positional Size: 7
Positional Wingspan: 6
Paint Scoring: 8
Midrange Scoring: 6
Three-Point Scoring: 9
Dribbling: 6
Passing: 4
Perimeter Defense: 4
Interior Defense: 2
Rebounding: 4

Embed from Getty Images

JUMP TO SECTION

> Intro

> The Two

> The Three

> Marvelous Movement Shooting

> Two-Man Game

> Folding on D

> Unrealized Pull-Up Shooting

> Shot Creation Struggle

> Remaining Holes

> Beacon Bacon

>Link to Player Contract & Salary Info

*All short clips courtesy of NF Highlights & Z.Highlights (YouTube)

*All statistical data courtesy of NBA Advanced Stats

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STRENGTHS

Intro

Doug McDermott is a highly skilled long-range shooter. He's a great option for coaches to use in off-ball actions that get him loose for 3pt looks. At 6-foot-7, he's got more size than your average three-point specialist.

"Dougie McBuckets" got that nickname by being such a prolific scorer back at Creighton. After a multi-year adjustment period, he has translated some of those strengths to the Association.

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The Two

His NBA game aligns tightly with the paradigm shift that has been unfolding. That is to say, he nails a high volume of threes while also scoring at the rim. For Doug, his twos and threes alike tend to be assisted though.

Starting with his two's, Doug is an exceptional cutter. He times up his basket cuts perfectly on both strongside and weakside chances.

With defenders top-locking him often, he slices backdoor as his teammate dribbles towards the corner. The former Bluejay also locks in to scan for turned heads that lead to cutting opportunities.

With past teammates like Malcolm Brogdon, T.J. Warren, and Caris LeVert that penetrated, he'd sneak in safely. All told, he had a great 1.41 points per play mark on cuts in 2019-2020. Nowadays, smart passers like Dejounte Murray, Derrick White, and Jakob Poeltl feed him the ball on these darts.

He can and will attack defenders who fly out at him. Pump fakes aren't even required half the time as defenders often assume he's taking the three. Subsequently, Doug will embark on a long stride take to the cup (reasonable 4 drives/game in 2020-2021).

The Ames, Iowa native has had formidable shooting clips around the rim for a while now. This is in part due to the kinds of interior looks he gets (backdoor cuts, etc.).

It remains impressive, shooting a 65.5% rim percentage from 2017-2018 to 2019-2020 combined. 2020-2021 had him remarkably just a shade under 70% in the charge circle. 62.3% was his figure in 2021-2022.

The Three

Doug is someone you absolutely cannot leave open from three-point land. This means defenders are silly to cheat off him to cut off drives or even tag rollers. McDermott holds abundant value as a floor-spacer.

Mechanics-wise, he has a very free and easy release. At 6'7", he does not need to worry about getting his shot blocked and therefore doesn't need to rush it. His shot is still swift though, clocking in at about a half-second from shot pocket to release.

Marvelous Movement Shooting

He must be located and tracked in both half-court and transitional settings. In the half-court, he blazes off of pindowns and staggers, aligning himself quickly to the basket before raising. Doug utilizes a rapid dip to get himself in rhythm for spot-up jimmies.

The 6'7" sniper also just moves relentlessly within the offense. He looks to maximize his gravity as he weaves around friendly and unfriendly bodies on the floor.

For added context, his 5.02 average miles per hour speed on offense closely mimicked motion shooters like Joe Harris, JJ Redick, and Davis Bertans in 2019-2020. Curls that leave his man trailing will fuel Doug's slashing.

The shooting numbers from deep are stellar across the board. He shot no lower than 42% on catch-and-shoot treys from 2017-2018 to 2019-2020. In that latter season, he was also in the 93rd percentile for spot-up scoring and the 87th scoring off screens.

His volume of treys must also be highlighted to show that this skill is a scalable one for Doug McDermott. He had 345 catch-and-shoot points in 2019-2020, with everyone higher than him on the leaderboards having played 180+ more minutes. McDermott's point total surpassed CJ McCollum, Bradley Beal, Terry Rozier, and Seth Curry.

Two-Man Game

McDermott profiles as a guy you would thrive in dribble handoff scenarios. He has proven that to be the case, enhancing this skillset as he's matured. His basic passing reads have gotten better here, in addition to his driving capabilities.

Back in Indiana, he and Domantas Sabonis had mind-melded to form an especially lethal combination. Their give-and-go action was as versatile as it was dangerous. Doug as the recipient could – shoot the three, drive, or pass if crowded; while Domantas as the delivery man could – hand it off cleanly, fake it and keep, or face up and hit a jumper.

Across 2019-2020 and 2020-2021, McDermott's number one assist-to man and assist-from man was Sabonis in all four instances. Doug's DHO impact wasn't limited to the 6'11" center, however.

Since then, other bigs like Myles Turner worked with him in 2020-2021, to the tune of Doug's standing for a 79th overall handoff scoring productivity. He now works capably with the Spurs big men.

WEAKNESSES

Folding on D

When a possession changes hands, Doug turns into a clear negative on the court. Most of the factors at play here stem from non-elite athleticism, as his size, defensive instincts, and energy levels are good enough to compete theoretically. In reality, he will get targeted on switches or will be hidden in the half-court defensive unit altogether.

If his on-ball defense was even average, Doug would be a far more valuable player. The offensive value he brings is clear and hard to find in a player around his size. The thing is, being a 6'7" swingman means you must capably guard similar-sized wings on the other end.

One problem area to look at his containment inability. Defensive breakdowns at the point of attack have multiple profoundly negative ripple effects for the unit. At the NBA level, you must be able to slide your feet well enough to stay in front, and Doug struggles in this regard.

Defensive woes have kept Doug off the floor in critical moments. His general shooting threat is valuable but not quite enough to compensate for his defensive liability status. The counting stats like steals and deflections are not there either to redeem him.

Unrealized Pull-Up Shooting

McDermott is not free of offensive weak points. The most glaring may be a lack of separation moves/blow-by ability.

Without that wiggle to his game, he can't tap into his pull-up shooting ability from deep (i.e. one-dribble pull off the ball screen). Instead, he must rely upon DHO's or simple catch-and-shoots for his shooting impact to be felt.

Shot Creation Struggle

His handle gets him from Point A to Point B when the angle is there, but he's not going to break you down off the bounce. McDermott's lack of explosiveness kills most thought of improvement here even with the prospect of improved handles.

Across 2020-2021, merely 55 of his 354 baskets were tallied as unassisted. This is a palatable figure for a rim-running big man, not a combo forward. Moreover, a lack of consistent downhill pressure leaves Doug with a criminally low free-throw rate.

Remaining Holes

Passing isn't a particular source of value for the Creighton product. His best reads are made when he recognizes the blitz in a handoff situation, then dumps it to his open mate. Besides this, McDermott will not be adding much to the squad in the passing department.

He isn't much of a rebounder on either end. McDermott plays quite a bit of four on the court, meaning the glass-cleaning expectations are there. He fails to meet these though, with a soft 4-5 boards per-36 mark in an average season.

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bacon
Beacon Bacon

McDermott was a lottery pick in the 2014 NBA Draft, part of a class that included future All-Stars Nikola Jokic, Zach LaVine, Joel Embiid, and Julius Randle