McDermott got McBuckets Last Night

I am Doug McDermott’s harshest critic. I have been since I stayed up until one in the morning at the start of free agency just to find out that our big free agent acquisition was a guy that could not stay on a team in years past. I was so mad that I could not fall asleep for another hour. Since then I have been 100% out on McDermott. In games he has played well it has been in garbage time, but for most games he is just a guy not touching the ball. I realize that in reality McDermott not getting the ball was not all his fault. Nate McMillan not adjusting his offense to make McDermott a weapon is just as much to blame as McDermott just standing in the corner.

I did not watch the Pacers play on Monday night against the Utah Jazz. I saw it was a blow out win and that McDermott led the Pacers in scoring with 21 points. Being ever the pessimist when it comes to Mr. McBuckets, I assumed that it was all in garbage time just like his previous “good” games this season. After doing a little research I realized that this was, in fact, not the case. So naturally instead of being happy I had another “What the hell happened?” moment just like when I saw TJ Leaf’s putback dunk against the Spurs the game before. I figured that this game was an outlier and I was still 100% out on McDermott.

Indiana Pacers Doug McDermott. Credit to IndyStar.com

Then, last night’s game happened. The second night of a back to back and it was a close one. The Phoenix Suns played better basketball than I expected a 4-15 basketball team to play. The Pacers were up 13 when the Suns went on a run to take the lead in the 4th quarter. The Pacers were struggling and it seemed that no one could hit a shot. But Dougie McBuckets put on a Kyle Korver mask and became the player that Pacers imagined that he could be.

He scored 21 points on 7-12 shooting and 5-7 from the free throw line. He was tied for the leading scorer last night with Domantas Sabonis. He played decent defense for being McDermott, but that is also not why he is on the floor. Sabonis and God save me TJ Leaf need to be there for the help defense.

McBuckets looked good last night. Every shot he took I felt like it was going to go down. He even attempted his signature every other game monster dunk. Spoiler, he was fouled and missed, but he did sink both free throws. Am I as hyped up about McDermott’s play as I was about Aaron Holiday’s? No, not even close. But I can say this, Dougie McBuckets is slowly working into my good graces and more importantly into a essential bench player for the Pacers. I am effectively no longer 100% out on him. He is slowly reeling me in. Only about 75% more to go.