Since the arrival of his first child, Dennis Schroder has struggled mightily on both ends of the floor and OKC Thunder needs him to snap out of it.
Before I begin to analyze OKC Thunder guard Dennis Schroder‘s game, we must acknowledge some things are bigger than basketball. On the 12th of February, the German became a Dad with the arrival of his first son.
Dennis Schröder was out vs. Portland last night for personal reasons. This is on his Instagram today: https://t.co/p48FyCG4oI
— Maddie Lee (@maddie_m_lee) February 12, 2019
With Russell Westbrook welcoming twins and Terrance Ferguson having a daughter, it has been a busy year for the team off the court. Schroder adds to the collection of babies coming out of OKC and nothing is more important than family.
Now let’s get to basketball.
Pre-All Star break
Five games prior to the All-Star break, Schroder was on fire, posting 19.4 points per game on 54.8 percent shooting and 48 percent from three. The German was getting to his spots, dictating play and single-handedly won OKC games on the back of his impressive performances.
His best effort of that stretch came against the Miami Heat where he scorched them to the tune of 28 points on 11-13 shooting and 4-6 from three. This included a red-hot 24 points in the second quarter.
Post-All-Star break
Since his return, Schroder struggling to find his shot. He is averaging 9.6 points, 4.6 assists, and 2.2 rebounds on 28.4 percent shooting and 20.8 percent from three in 24.4 minutes of action. In his most recent performance against Philadelphia, the German posted 14 points and seven assists but shot just 4-15 from the field and 2-5 from three. With Paul George absent, OKC needed Schroder to step-up and he had another tough night shooting the rock.
The 25-year-old talks about the team’s performance in last night’s loss.
It’s no coincidence that Oklahoma City has struggled mightily during his slump as the bench leans
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heavily on the German’s play to carry them. When Schroder struggles, so does OKC who need every bit of his playmaking prowess, particularly when PG13 and Russell Westbrook sit. However, the German appears to be undeterred by the loss and is looking forward to the next game.
Oklahoma City has a day break before playing five games in seven nights. With the Western Conference standings starting to condense with playoff seeding up for grabs, OKC needs to get itself back on track.
In order to do that, Schroder needs to snap out of this funk as soon as possible.