https://youtu.be/5l3WuV_esVs
SPOILERT ALERT: there are just way too many layups in this video. Let’s just get that out of the way right now, before you click on a video that you might come to regret clicking on. I do not want the sacred halls of DownToBuck’s Archivium* to be a place of regret.
Normally when you see a number like “28” next to a player name like “Doug McDermott”, your first thought is going to be “damn I bet he hit so many threes, I gotta see this”. And that’s not an unreasonable thought to have; McDermott is well known for using his smooth jumper to bury teams. But if you were to look closely at the title of this video, you might become concerned, because nowhere in the title do I mention how many threes he made. With that many points, surely he must have hit 6 or 7, right? But because it went unmentioned, that means there is a disturbing lack of three-point bombage going on here.
Disturbing indeed. McDermott made 12 shots in this game, the second-most of his career, but only one came outside the paint. That’s right: 11 layups/dunks. For McDermott. Not, like, Zion Williamson or Rudy Gobert or some other rim-centric player. McDermott. What were the Hornets even doing here? Did Cody Zeller die but get put in the game anyway? Where was Bismack Biyombo? There’s no reason McDermott should’ve been able to do so much stuff in the paint.
Still, good for him. He did have to work a little bit for a few of these, and it’s kinda refreshing (but mostly disturbing) to see him do damage by cutting towards the rim instead of running around screens on the three-point line. And I must reiterate: he and Domantas Sabonis are the best white-dude chemistry duo in the league. Heck, you can probably add T.J. McConnell to that and that’s are best white-dude chemistry trio in the league.
In case, you’re feeling kind of woozy from the unexpected nature of McDermott’s buckets in this performance, and I don’t blame you, calm yourself with this totally expected stat from this performance: he had 0 steals, and 0 blocks. Ah, now don’t you feel better. All is right with the world.
*Yes, I am aware that this video is uploaded on the normal “DownToBuck2” YouTube channel, and not on the retro channel called “DownToBuck Highlights Archivium”, but my term for the totality of my created highlightage is, in fact, “The Archivium”. And it’s a real place, with a real rickety staircase that really descends into a bunch of shelves filled with individual VHS tapes labeled with names and dates. If you donate enough to my Patreon, maybe I’ll let you peruse the collection. No touching, though.