Here’s 4 things the Indiana Pacers got right in November
By Ben Gibson
What an engaged Doug McDermott can do
The tepid response to signing Doug McDermott at the opening of free agency was proving warranted after an ugly start to his November.
After starting off the season with a pair of solid performances, McDermott faded into the oblivion of the deep bench. Without his shot, his imperfect defense was apparent. In the first seven games in the year’s penultimate month, he averaged 2.9 points on 33.3 percent shooting. With only 2.6 field goals attempted, McDermott’s fine deal was looking less and less like a smart signing.
But then, the Pacers made a real effort to pass McDermott the ball.
Over the last seven games, McDermott is averaging 11.9 points on 54.7 percent shooting from the floor and 48 percent from deep. He now makes roughly two 3-pointers a game while making a bigger impact on the team.
McDermott’s +/- and advanced numbers were in the positive before this surge, but now instead of being a glorified escape plan for the offense, they’ve made him matter. Out of Indiana’s regular contributors, only Aaron Holiday has a higher net rating in November.
Just keep passing McBuckets the ball.