Chicago Bulls Offseason Checklist: How Doug McDermott Can Improve His Game
Doug McDermott has the potential to become a key part of the Chicago Bulls' rotation. But before that can happen, he must improve his game a bit during the summer.
McDermott is well known for his stellar four-year career at Creighton University. The 6'8" forward finished with a ridiculous 3,150 points, the fifth-largest total in NCAA Division I history. As a senior, he was named college basketball's consensus player of the year after averaging 26.7 points and seven rebounds per contest.
The Bulls were obviously intrigued by McDermott's skills as they traded up for the scoring machine on the night of last year's NBA draft. They dealt a pair of first-rounders (Nos. 16 and 19) to the Denver Nuggets, who had just selected McDermott with the 11th overall pick.
McDermott went on to have an impressive summer league, producing 18 points per game while shooting 44.2 percent overall and 44.4 percent from three-point range.
Dougie McBuckets was expected to make an impact off the Bulls bench this season. However, he ended up having a disappointing rookie year, playing only 36 games due to a knee injury and falling out of coach Tom Thibodeau's rotation. He averaged three points and 1.2 rebounds in 8.9 minutes a night.
"He’s gone from being a do-everything player at Creighton to a do-nothing rookie shackled to the Chicago Bulls’ bench," wrote Steven Pivovar of Omaha.com.
Surely McDermott is pumped for next season, especially since coach Fred Hoiberg, who recently replaced the defensive-minded Thibodeau, is now in the picture. Hoiberg played at McDermott's high school back in the day and serves as an offensive guru. With McDermott being an offensive guy, what's not to love about his new coach?
What should McDermott do this summer in order to improve for the 2015-16 campaign?
Call Up Kyle Korver
Shooting is McDermott's bread and butter. During his senior year, he shot a red-hot 52.6 percent overall, 44.9 from three-point land and 86.4 from the foul line.
But he struggled as a rookie, shooting just 31.7 percent from beyond the arc and 66.7 percent from the free-throw line. It wouldn't hurt to call fellow Creighton alum Kyle Korver for some pointers. The Atlanta Hawks All-Star is the epitome of an NBA sharp-shooter. This season, he nearly became the league's first-ever 50-50-90 guy, shooting 48.7 percent overall, 49.2 percent from three and 89.8 percent from the charity stripe.
Per Pivovar, McDermott talked about meeting up with Korver:
"He’s a great person to have in your corner, McDermott said. We’ve talked some when he was in town. He told me he went through some struggles and he’s gone through some injuries.
We’ve talked about meeting up in the offseason to work on my game. I like what he’s doing right now, and I’d love to be a part of it.
"
Having recently undergone ankle surgery, Korver obviously can't offer much on-court training. Yet, he could certainly give McDermott advice on how to shoot and move without the ball to get open.
McDermott needs to spend hours a day practicing his shooting, which is truly his ticket to having a long successful career as a pro.
Spend Time with Jimmy Butler
Defense definitely isn't one of McDermott's strengths. He's not hugely athletic and not the world's fastest person, making it difficult to stay in front of his man. But that doesn't mean he can't turn out to be a decent defender with a little hard work.
Luckily, McDermott has a teammate in Jimmy Butler, who's undoubtedly one of the league's top wing defenders. Perhaps by training with Butler, McDermott can learn a lesson or two on improving on that end of the court.
Butler isn't all about defense, though. Working hard to improve his offense last summer, he put up a career-high 20 points per game this season. Ben Golliver of Sports Illustrated gave a brief description of the guard's summer workout:
"Butler embarked on a carefully structured workout regimen in Houston with the goal of filling out his game. His days generally began at 7 a.m. and ran until 8 p.m.—with breaks for meals and a mid-day nap—and included individual skill work, weight training, running on the track, full-court scrimmages, yoga, and Pilates.
"
Now that's the type of workout that can improve your game.
Conclusion
Following a rough rookie year, McDermott may already be considered a bust by some fans out there. It's unfair, though, to place such a label on someone who hasn't even played 40 NBA games and was sidelined with an injury.
Butler's rookie numbers (8.5 minutes, 2.6 points, 1.3 rebounds and 40.5 percent shooting) weren't exactly legendary either. Now he's an All-Star and the league's Most Improved Player. That just goes to show that there's hope for McDermott to bounce back.
McDermott basically needs to live in the gym this summer, lifting weights, working on ball-handling and focus on getting his shot back to where it was during his college days.
Plus, another strong summer league should build his confidence and aid him in having a breakout sophomore year with the Bulls.
All stats are from Basketball-Reference.com.
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