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McDermott thrilled to begin his career in Chicago

In sports poetry of the past, heaven has been a playground and a cornfield in Iowa.

Iowa native Doug McDermott has found his paradise on the West Side of Chicago. A brand new gym, open 24 hours a day and a basket available for shooting practice.

“Having a lot of guys around to rebound for me at all times is great (also),” McDermott said Thursday at the Advocate Center, his new home away from home. “It's like paradise for me, because I live right down the street. I can come down here and get shots up whenever and not worry about studying for (college) exams and stuff.

“It's awesome. This is a dream come true. I couldn't ask for a better spot.”

The rookie forward from Creighton has also gotten plenty of opportunity so far in preseason. Through two games, he's the Bulls' leader in minutes played with 60.

The results are still a work in progress. McDermott has knocked down 5 of 16 shots overall and is 2-for-8 from 3-point range. On the bright side, he was able to get plenty of shots off, he kept his fouls and turnovers relatively low, and grabbed 8 rebounds Tuesday against Detroit.

“I was able to get some good looks, some of them weren't falling,” McDermott said. “That's part of the preseason, still a little rusty and I know those shots will fall when the games really count.

“Twenty-four seconds goes by pretty fast. You've got to be able to make quick decisions without turning the ball over. That's what coaches really stress. Some of us rookies are kind of in a hurry and I'm sure it will come as time goes on.”

McDermott is essentially playing behind veteran Mike Dunleavy at small forward, so there's a clear opportunity to grab some minutes during the regular season if he shoots well. Fellow rookie Nikola Mirotic is in a tougher spot looking for time at power forward behind Pau Gasol and Taj Gibson.

Defensively, McDermott has been studying film with assistant coach Andy Greer and is trying to retain coach Tom Thibodeau's instructions during practice.

“Whatever he asks me to do, I will, whether it's play a couple minutes a game, play 15 minutes a game — I'll do whatever,” McDermott said. “He's shown a lot of confidence in me the first couple games and we'll see where that goes.”

Asked about McDermott's early performance, Thibodeau didn't offer many specifics. His standard retort is it's all about how well the team functions when a particular player is on the floor.

“Like everybody else, there was good and there was bad,” Thibodeau said. “It's choppy. It's two preseason games. This isn't the level of competition you'll be facing in an NBA game.”

When it comes to shooting practice, McDermott said he's gone to the Advocate Center at night a few times, but doesn't have a set shooting routine.

“It's more off of feel and sometimes I'll try to get so many in a row,” he said. “Not necessarily shoot and make so many, but try to see how many I can make in a row. … I'm kind of a perfectionist. That's kind of my personality.

“(But) I think a huge part of this job now is rest and getting your legs the proper amount of rest and not overdoing it. Once you start to overdo it, you start to overthink things sometimes. I'm a guy, I like to get my work done and get out of here.”

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