Oklahoma City Thunder: 3 Suggestions For Game 3
By Max Seng
Put Doug McDermott At Power Forward
Dougie McBuckets was billed as a godsend for Oklahoma City when he and Taj Gibson were acquired by the Thunder at the trade deadline. Since that trade occured, McDermott has languished in and out of Billy Donovan’s rotation.
This series seems like it’d be an ideal fit for McDermott’s best skill, and something Oklahoma City desperately needs: long range shooting and someone the Rockets have to pay attention to beyond the three-point line.
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In under 14 minutes Wednesday night, McDermott was 4-of-5 from the field, including 3-of-4 from deep for 11 points. One of those treys was at the beginning of the fourth quarter after being on the bench for nearly a quarter.
McDermott would be a natural fit to guard Ryan Anderson, Houston’s slow-footed sharpshooting big, and could release some of the stranglehold Oklahoma City’s offense has operated on with multiple non-shooters often on the court, not to mention a slumping Victor Oladipo.
McDermott may give up some of the Thunder’s rebounding prowess, but it could be worth it in exchange for providing them with a bonafide knockdown shooter in crunch time to occupy at least one defender when Westbrook inevitably goes full Rambo mode in Game 3.