OKC Thunder: Talking myself into Dennis Schroder
By Alex Mcewen
Player Specifics
- Height: 6′1″
- Position: PG
- Age: 24-306 days
- Years of experience in NBA: 5
- Hometown: Braunschweig, Germany
- Salary the previous season: 15.5 million
- Years left on Contract: Three-years 46.5 million, fully guaranteed, no player/team option.
A few notes on Schroder before a statistical breakdown; he is a bit undersized, which could be one reason Atlanta decided he could not be their starter going forward.
Dancing with myself
Another reason Atlanta might have been ready to move on from Schroder is he does not appear to be the best teammate. Check out what a Thunder fan who lives in Atlanta observed:
This observation speaks volumes for multiple reasons, firstly why is Schroder alone? No friends, nor teammates wanted to join him for a night out? Maybe Scrhroder is a fan of Billy Idol, Idol sang about dancing with himself, Schroder literally did dance with himself.
Secondly, this could indicate Schroder is a loner, nothing is wrong with that, but that’s not a good quality in a leader. It could also signal his teammates do not like him. Perhaps it is a combination of both. If, Schroder is indeed a loner a backup point guard role will suit him better than a starting role.
Could Schroder start in OKC?
With Melo gone a starting spot is open. It’s unlikely Schroder starts at the four due to his size. However, OKC could slide Paul George from small forward to power forward, move Andre Roberson to small forward, then Schroder could start at shooting guard. That combination would give OKC a two point guard lineup similar to the Chris Paul/James Harden lineup the Rockets use.
Westbrook and Schroder are not the same caliber of 3-point shooters as Paul and Harden, which could limit the effectiveness of that lineup. The above-mentioned starting lineup is a long shot, the more realistic option for that lineup would be a closing lineup.
After starting 145 games out of 146 games the last two seasons combined transitioning back to bench could be an adjustment for Schroder. However, as the old phrase goes it does not matter who starts it’s all about who finishes.
Statline
| Season | Age | Tm | G | MP | FG | FGA | FG% | 3P | 3PA | 3P% | 2P% | eFG% | FTA | FT% | TRB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | PF | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015-16 | 22 | ATL | 80 | 20.3 | 4.1 | 9.8 | .421 | 1.0 | 3.0 | .322 | .465 | .471 | 2.3 | .791 | 2.6 | 4.4 | 0.9 | 0.1 | 2.3 | 1.7 | 11.0 |
| 2016-17 | 23 | ATL | 79 | 31.5 | 6.9 | 15.4 | .451 | 1.3 | 3.7 | .340 | .487 | .493 | 3.2 | .855 | 3.1 | 6.3 | 0.9 | 0.2 | 3.3 | 1.9 | 17.9 |
| 2017-18 | 24 | ATL | 67 | 31.0 | 7.5 | 17.1 | .436 | 1.1 | 3.9 | .290 | .480 | .469 | 4.0 | .849 | 3.1 | 6.2 | 1.1 | 0.1 | 2.7 | 2.2 | 19.4 |
| Career | 352 | 23.7 | 4.9 | 11.3 | .434 | 0.9 | 2.8 | .320 | .471 | .473 | 2.6 | .827 | 2.5 | 4.8 | 0.8 | 0.1 | 2.4 | 1.7 | 12.9 |
Provided by Basketball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 7/21/2018.
A massive positive for OKC is the fact Schroder likely will not complain about shot selection. As the lead guy in Atlanta, last season Schroder attempted 1146 shots last season. For comparison, Melo attempted 1168 shots as the third option in OKC. Moreover, Schroder scored 40 more points than Melo on 22 fewer field goal attempts.
Furthermore, Schroder is formidable when it comes to 2-point field goals. Schroder shot 48.0 percent from inside the arc last season. Schroder’s 2-point percentage last season would have ranked ahead of PG, Alex Abrines, Melo, and Patrick Patterson.
Schroder did not attempt a low number of 2-point shots. In fact, Schroder’s 2-point attempts last season would have ranked second on the Thunder behind only Westbrook.