Oct. 25--At least two reasons prompted Fred Hoiberg to draw up Friday's last-second play for Doug McDermott.
The obvious one, with mostly reserve players deciding an exhibition finale, is because McDermott drew a vocal contingent of fans to the University of Nebraska's Pinnacle Arena because he starred at Creighton, just an hour away.
The more beneficial one is because McDermott had started the game 0-for-7. And Hoiberg is counting on the second-year player to contribute this season.
"I wanted to run something for Doug and give him the ball and let him go to work. He made a heckuva shot," Hoiberg said. "I thought it was terrific that he just kept playing. He was rebounding and battling on the defensive end. To hit that game-winner should be good for his confidence.
"It's a sign of maturity, a sign of growth. He's continuing to be aggressive. And he has to be. His teammates expect him to shoot. They want him to shoot."
McDermott, who finished 2-for-10 for five points, appreciated Hoiberg's confidence in him.
"Eighty-two games are about to come our way. They're not always going to be perfect," McDermott said. "You have to find other ways to impact the game and not get down on yourself."
Bench brothers: Friday's 103-102 victory over the Mavericks marks a second straight active and productive exhibition game from the big man reserve pairing of Joakim Noah and Taj Gibson.
"They're just such a shot of energy," Hoiberg said. "That's what you expect to get from those guys."
Gibson averaged 13 points, 6.7 rebounds and two blocks over his final three exhibitions. Both he and Noah are expected to see some fourth-quarter minutes.
"We have a lot of different bigs who can do a lot of different things," Gibson said. "I've played with Joakim, especially late fourth quarters for (Tom Thibodeau). I'm familiar with him."
