Doug McDermott Has an Opportunity to Thrive in Fred Hoiberg's Offense

LAS VEGAS — After the Chicago Bulls’ 91-73 win over the Cleveland Cavaliers last Wednesday at summer league, Doug McDermott spoke to the media wearing an ice wrap on his right wrist. It was still stinging from a dunk he threw down in the second half of the game, not a common occurrence for the player known in college as a shooter above all else.

In Vegas, McDermott wasn’t shooting much from the outside at all. He knocked down just two of his 16 attempts from beyond the arc in five summer-league games. It was an uncharacteristic slump for the man nicknamed “Dougie McBuckets,” one of the best shooters in college basketball history.

Yet despite his poor outside shooting, he was named First Team All-Summer League after a performance that saw him excel at everything else. Shooting from mid-range, posting up, running pick-and-rolls—all sides to his game he wasn’t encouraged to explore in the limited minutes he played as a rookie in Chicago under Tom Thibodeau. 

A Little Rusty

“He’s doing more work in the paint right now than he is in the perimeter,” said new Bulls coach Fred Hoiberg. “He’s making good moves, shooting that fadeaway Dirk shot, it’s been pretty effective. He’s a guy that’s so unique because of his ability to score all over the floor.”

The Bulls gave up two picks to trade for McDermott in the 2014 draft because they thought he could help right away. As a four-year college player with a high basketball IQ who filled a glaring need—outside shooting—the move made perfect sense.

But a knee injury sidelined McDermott six weeks, and he struggled in minimal minutes. Former Bulls head coach Thibodeau rarely called his number, and McDermott was largely limited to spotting up on the perimeter for catch-and-shoot threes.

Running a more diverse offensive playbook has been an adjustment for him, even at summer league. But he’s confident he’ll be able to pick it up by training camp.

“I’m not worried about it,” McDermott said. “I think it’s kind of how the defense is playing me. I’m not getting a lot of great looks. When I’ve had to shoot them, it’s been off pick-and-pops, which I haven’t done in probably two years. That’s where most of my threes have come from. I’m just trying to get used to it. But if there’s one thing I’m not worried about in my game, it’s my shooting.”

To Hoiberg, the shooting struggles are circumstantial.

“I thought he was rushing a little bit,” the coach said. “He’s not finishing his shot. He needs to stick his landing a little bit better. Very little, correctable things. When he has good tempo on his shot, it usually goes in.”

McDermott views his summer league shooting struggles as a blessing in disguise. He’s still going to draw defenders on the perimeter because of his name and reputation, but the lack of reliance on the outside shot has forced him to develop other aspects of his game. A diverse offensive skill set is going to be crucial in finding minutes under Hoiberg, who runs a much different, more uptempo system from the more traditional Thibodeau.

Adjusting to a New Offense

“I’ve liked it,” McDermott said of his new coach’s offense. “It’s much different. In Thibs’ offense, I was either coming off screens or just spacing to the corner to get the defense to be attached to me and open up lanes for other guys. There’s nothing wrong with that, but this summer I’ve been able to do a little more isolation stuff, more 15 feet in. Part of it is, it’s just the way they’re guarding me. The way they’re guarding me off screens, they’re staying attached. Some of these other teams have picked up on that, so I’ve had to get more into the paint.”

With the exception of first-round draft pick Bobby Portis, the Bulls’ roster will be identical to the one they fielded last year. In order to make the leap from the second-round out to legitimate contention, in addition to the stars staying healthy, the Bulls will be dependent on major internal improvements from their younger players. That means Tony Snell, Nikola Mirotic and McDermott. He didn’t get to play much with the likes of Derrick Rose, Jimmy Butler and Pau Gasol in his rookie season, due to injuries and lack of a spot in the rotation, but he's confident he can help those players find more open shots.

“I think a lot of these plays I’m getting are plays that Jimmy is going to thrive in,” McDermott said. “He’s going to draw so much attention that it’s going to leave shooters like me, Mike and Tony open on the perimeter. The defenses are going to focus in on [Butler] and Derrick and Pau and everyone else, so it’s going to create more open shots for us.”

McDermott showed enough flashes of what he can do at summer league that it’s not worth writing him off after a disappointing rookie season. He’s going to have to find his shot again, but the signs are there that the other parts of his game can fill out if he’s put in a variety of situations.

To that end, Hoiberg and his offense could be exactly what McDermott needs to get his career on track.

Sean Highkin covers the Chicago Bulls for Bleacher Report. Follow him on Twitter @highkin