Doug McDermott accomplished what the Indiana Pacers expected and showed promise for continued improvement in other aspects of his game.
After Kevin Pritchard opted against picking up Lance Stephenson’s team option last summer, it was transparent the organization wanted to improve the team’s depth. A major piece the Indiana Pacers were missing in the 2017-18 season was three-point shooting off the bench.
It didn’t take long.
A few minutes before free agency even officially began, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski tweeted this bomb:
Doug McDermott has agreed to a three-year, $22M deal with Indiana, league source tells ESPN.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) July 1, 2018
For what they were looking for, the Pacers had signed one of the most practical players available. Doug McDermott shot 42.6% from deep in the 2017-18 NBA season, which included stops in New York and Dallas. This percentage from three was good enough for 14th in the league (min. 50 3PA).
The only Pacers player who shot better from long-range in that season was Darren Collison, his 46.8% three-point shooting led the association. The signing was undoubtedly an upgrade over the 28.9% conversion rate from downtown that Lance had offered.
This season, McDermott didn’t spend a ton of time on the floor (17.4 minutes per game). However, he was able to shoot efficiently when his name was called. In fact, his effective field goal percentage (59.5%) ranked 15th among bench players in 2018-19.
He held the same spot in the standings for true shooting percentage among bench players (62.1%) too. The fifth-year veteran made impactful offensive plays frequently, leading to an 11.6 player efficiency rating, the highest of his career.
His consistency made McDermott a valuable factor in the Pacers bench scoring, which would occasionally go through droughts. The spark plug ability that the Pacers forward brings was often needed in order to swing the momentum for the team; very rarely did a McBuckets three or #McDunkContest slam warrant little reaction from the bench and Indiana fans.
He could always be relied on to find a spot that allowed for a high-percentage attempt. Over 95 of his made field goals came off an assist, which was the second highest in the league behind fellow Creighton sharpshooter Kyle Korver (min. 45 GP).
Let’s take a dive into how McDermott was able to take efficient shots and contribute to the Pacers offense.