Doug McDermott has proudly worn the “Dougie McBuckets” moniker ever since his college days and maybe even before that (I’m too lazy to do research on the origins of the nickname). However, for most of his time in the NBA, the name “McBuckets” hasn’t accurately reflected his on-court production, because a nickname like that implies that he gets buckets at a rate that’s significantly higher than league average.
Each of the past three seasons (not including this one), McDermott has been in the bottom half of the league when it comes to field goals per 36 minutes. For example, last season, he was sandwiched between Rodions Kurucs (“KuBuckets”) and Ricky Rubio (“RuBuckets”) in that stat. This season, he’s finally showing why he’s McBuckets, and in doing so, he’s also demonstrating that his alternate nickname of “McMarginalized” was surprisingly accurate.
Okay, nobody was calling him “McMarginalized”. I just made that up as of a minute ago. But they should have been calling him that because all of his coaches have preferred him to be a seldom-used bench shooter rather than the all-around scoring threat that he truly is. Nate McMillan is doing a better job of utilizing McDermott but I’m thinking there’s still some scoring potency waiting in there to be unleashed. Stop McMarginalizing him you McCowards.