McDermott gets call as closer

The problem: The Chicago Bulls' offense frequently grinds to a halt late in fourth quarters. They rank a middling 16th in the NBA in both fourth-quarter points (24.8) and field-goal percentage (.427).

The solution: Doug McDermott … maybe?

Bulls coach Fred Hoiberg made the move and stuck with his decision. McDermott has played the majority of the fourth quarter in the last three games.

During Saturday's 102-96 loss to Charlotte at the United Center, McDermott did his part. He was the team's top scorer in the fourth quarter with 8 points, hitting 3 of 4 shots from the field.

The one he missed was a 3-pointer that rimmed out with 1:16 left and the score still tied.

"It's important to have floor spacing. That's why Doug has been out there late in games," Hoiberg said Sunday at the Advocate Center. "Plus, he's been guarding. I've been very pleased with Doug's effort on that end.

"He hit a big 3 for us last night. He had another one where he had no hesitation, rose up and unfortunately it didn't go down. He's been great for us. He's been efficient. He had a good post-up play yesterday where he hit the fadeaway.

"We'll use him more and more. But I've been really happy with the way Doug has played."

Defense has been the biggest knock on McDermott. But the winning plan in the NBA is to turn talented offensive players into competent defenders.

As of Sunday morning, McDermott ranked second in the league in 3-point percentage at .474, trailing only San Antonio's Kawhi Leonard.

"He's making strides every game," Hoiberg said. "He had great defensive position on (Jeremy) Lamb (Saturday) where he really moved his feet.

"He's taking that first move with his back foot and sliding his feet. He's getting in his gap. He's making huge strides. A lot of that is the individual attention that he has had. A lot of that is with (assistant) Jim Boylen at the end of practice."

After the loss to Charlotte, McDermott talked about what it's been like to play during crunchtime.

"(The intensity) really does (increase), especially like the last five minutes," he said. "The pace is a little different, guys are going a little harder to the boards.

"There's more of an edge out there coming from the other team and we've got to be able to match that."

Among the Bulls' regulars, Jimmy Butler is the leading fourth-quarter scorer with a 5.7 point average, followed by Derrick Rose with 4.4. The best shooters are Taj Gibson at 56 percent and Kirk Hinrich at 55.6 percent.

McDermott is shooting better than 50 percent from 3-point range in the fourth, hitting 8 of 15 attempts overall.

The Bulls' four-game homestand concludes with Monday's rematch against Phoenix. Hoiberg said the team had a lengthy film session Sunday. Among the items he tried to clean up was communicating on defense.

Offensively, Hoiberg felt the Bulls got enough good looks offensively, but a couple of 3-pointers - one by McDermott and one from Butler - rattled out down the stretch. Rose also missed on a couple of driving attempts.

"I liked the 29 assists," Hoiberg said. "We were sharing the ball, moving pretty well. Again, got to put a full game together."

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