OKC Thunder: Dennis Schroder is the king of back to back games

The OKC Thunder has a positive record in the second of back to back games thanks in large part to the effort of Sixth Man of the Year candidate Dennis Schroder.

The OKC Thunder have done well in the second game of back to backs. They are 6-4 in these second games, 5-1 since Thanksgiving which is impressive. Also, take into account the Thunder have played the most clutch games in the NBA and they have not been able to rest their stars.

A huge reason for this success has been the game of Dennis Schroder. His energy when he comes off the bench is infectious and he is not afraid to take on the load when his teammates might be a bit off.

Schroder has shown all season that he has incredible speed. It is a testament to the German and the OKC Thunder conditioning staff that he appears to lose nothing even after playing intense games the night before.

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In the ten games with zero games break, Schroder is averaging 21.6 points, 3.8 assists and 3.3 rebounds per game. This compares well to his season averages of 19.0 points, 4.0 assists and 3.7 rebounds per game.

Looking at the high-level numbers there is a little drop in rebounds and assists despite the Detroit Pistons game, his scoring increases by 2.6 points per game. However, the best way of looking at Schroder’s impact is through his shooting numbers.

On the season, Schroder is shooting an excellent 47.0 percent from the field, 38.1 percent from deep and 84.9 percent from the line. This is heading up to the elite 50/40/90 that the best shooters in the game aspire to.

However, in the second game of a back to back, Schroder’s shooting becomes elite. He is shooting 51.3 percent from the floor, 46.4 from deep and 79.1 percent from the line. At the line is the only place where Schroder shows any drop in performance.

This is in part due to the line being the only place where he stops. If you watch Schroder on the court he is perpetual motion and this is how he keeps his energy going.

Schroder helps carry this team through these games and is a big reason the OKC Thunder is in the sixth seed.