Just in time for the all-star break, the Chicago Bulls were hit with another round of, “How good will Doug McDermott be and when will he get there?”
McDermott was the Bulls’ top scorer with 20 points in Tuesday’s 105-94 victory over Toronto at the United Center. The Bulls have one more test before the break, a Thursday home game against Boston.
Bulls game day
On a night when Dwyane Wade didn’t play and Jimmy Butler made just 2 of 10 shots from the field, McDermott was the Bulls’ most consistent offensive player, at least until Butler shot 10 free throws in the game’s final 2:43.
“With D-Wade out, I knew I had to step up a little bit,” McDermott said. “I had the hot hand, felt really good on both ends and was able to get rebounds. I feel like that carried over to the offensive end. I knew at crunchtime I had to be even more aggressive.”
This is the sort of thing the Bulls had in mind when they traded two first-round picks to Denver to snare McDermott in the 2014 draft.
He’s not just a spot-up shooter. He can attack the basket, score in transition and has shown a talent for posting up against smaller defenders, which he did a few times Tuesday when matched up with Toronto’s 6-foot-4 Norman Powell.
The problem, as all Bulls fans know, is McDermott has been inexplicably inconsistent this season.
With the Bulls in need of some sort of roster upgrade before next Thursday’s trade deadline, McDermott’s name has surely been mentioned in trade talks.
Should the Bulls keep waiting to see if McDermott fulfills his promise? Good question.
There has been speculation he could be one of the players involved in a deal for Philadelphia big man Jahlil Okafor, but as of Wednesday it appeared the market for Okafor had cooled.
“I think Doug has a chance to be an excellent player,” coach Fred Hoiberg said after Wednesday’s practice at the Advocate Center. “He’s a guy who can go out and get you baskets. He’s been a part of some big wins for us this year.
“The biggest thing is to continue to work on his consistency on the defensive end. I thought he was pretty good for the most part (Tuesday).
“Those are things that will allow him to be on the floor longer if he continues to make improvements. On the offensive end, we’re a better team when he’s out there.”
McDermott is in a good stretch, scoring in double digits eight times in the last 11 games. During that span, he has shot 50 percent from 3-point range and averaged 11.1 points.
He also was playing well around New Year’s Day, when he scored in double figures for five straight games.
Then, suddenly, his shooting touch disappeared and McDermott scored in single digits for seven of the next eight games. Of course, his one good performance was a monster, a 31-point eruption in a Jan. 15 victory at Memphis.
The best argument for keeping McDermott is he can fill a role the Bulls’ sorely need. Having a consistent 3-point shooter on the floor makes Butler’s life easier, no question. The Bulls still rank last in the league in 3-point percentage and 3-pointers made per game.
A reason to believe McDermott will step forward to become a solid NBA contributor is there aren’t many flaws in his game.
He plays defense like any American kid who was never asked to focus on that part of his game growing up — he still has a plenty to learn. But he seems to be making fewer defensive mistakes this season.
An argument could be made that injuries have slowed McDermott’s development.
He missed most of his rookie year due to arthroscopic knee surgery and had two concussions early this season. He has missed just one game, though, since returning from the second concussion on Dec. 8.
Hold or discard, the Bulls have seven days to decide.
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