Atlanta Hawks: Dennis Schröder Getting To The Rim

Having given up 114 points in a narrow loss to the Los Angeles Lakers on Tuesday night, there weren’t a whole lot of positives for the Atlanta Hawks to take from their performance. Not for the first time this season though, 21-year-old German Dennis Schröder was a source of great hope, even in a poor overall team performance.

Expectations were sky high for Schröder after being taken with a first-round pick, yet last season all that led to for both the Hawks and the player himself was regular disappointment.

Before he came over from Europe their were frequent warnings over how raw Schröder’s game was, but until everyone saw it, it almost seemed like no one believed it.

Undisputedly talented, and filled with energy from the first day he set foot in the NBA, Schröder’s problems in adjusting were more related to his mentality than his skill set. One of the most noticeable things about Schröder, as a rookie and now, is his willingness to press his opponent the full length of the court on almost every possession.

Coaches love that sort of defensive intensity, and opposing players hate it, yet for Schröder that pressing may well have been indicative of the biggest problem he had with his game last season. Almost as if he was too eager to please, the young German was playing at one speed only, and that was out of control fast.

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Although that intensity isn’t necessarily a negative on the defensive end, the Braunschweig native was carrying it with him on offense, and that’s where the problems would really start. In all of his play last season, Schröder had a tendency to seem rushed, and as a result he was frequently turning the ball over.

Schröder’s turnovers were so regular, that it was almost as if there was never a chance to actually see what he could do offensively. By the time he would be looking to run a set, or decide to attack the basket, it would almost always be too late as possession would have been coughed up in the process.

In the early parts of this season, Schröder looks much more reliable all around. His turnovers have increased slightly with his increase in minutes going from 1.2 last season to 1.4 this year. What’s most important though is comparing that to the accompanying numbers that turnovers are relevant to.

Where last year he was turning the ball over at that rate with only 3.7 points and 1.9 assists to try and counterbalance it with, this season Schröder is averaging 7.9 points and 2.8 assists on a nightly basis.

That noticeable jump in points is a result of the same aggression that we saw last year from the German, but this time around it’s being executed at a much more measured pace. Through the nine games that Schröder has played in he’s averaging above 55 percent shooting from the field.

That remarkable efficiency for a point guard has been a result of a willingness to penetrate the defense and attack the basket. 64 percent of all of Schröder’s field goal attempts this season have come from within the restricted area, and the youngster is currently making a sky high 69 percent of those shots.

It may not have been on display last year, but what has become abundantly clear in the early stages of this season is that Schröder is an accomplished finisher. The 21-year-old surprised everyone by throwing down a dunk against the San Antonio Spurs, but even his layups have been a joy to watch.

Schröder has showcased an incredible understanding of how to use the backboard to his advantage. When moving towards the rim, he does a great job of getting his body between his defender and the rim to guard against the shot block, and then plays the angles of the glass as he sees necessary to bank in his layups.

From the most acute of angles, to the very top of the glass, Schröder has made them all so far this season.

So even in some of the darker defeats that the Atlanta Hawks might have this season, they should sit safe in the knowledge that, in Dennis Schröder they might have an offensive powerhouse point guard under their wing for the future.

Next: The 30 Best Shooting Guards of All-Time--Is A Hawk Among Them?

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