Atlanta Hawks: Dennis Schröder Moving Up The Rotation?

From chaotic, close games, big comebacks and double overtime, the early part of the Atlanta Hawks season has had it all. At 2-3, it’s all pretty much balanced out though, and Hawks fans shouldn’t be particularly worried about the games that haven’t gone their way.

That’s not to say that there haven’t been some early season surprises though, and perhaps the biggest of all of those has been the play of Dennis Schröder.

Schröder exited the preseason as the team’s third choice point guard behind Jeff Teague and Shelvin Mack, and in Atlanta’s first two games against Toronto and Indiana his minutes allocation followed suit. Since then something has changed though.

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With Mike Budenholzer clearly feeling greater trust in the young German than he did at any point last season, Schröder has taken Mack’s role as the lead guard off the bench in the Hawks’ last three games.

It’s not the first time he’s had such an opportunity, but the difference between this time and last season is that Schröder seems to be grabbing his chance with two hands now.

Schröder’s limited play as a rookie was never down to question marks over the 21-year-old’s skill levels, it was more a matter of him needing to find a new level of maturity and discipline.

So early in the season it’s far too soon to say that Schröder has turned that corner, but the recent evidence suggests that he’s well on his way to doing just that.

If we start by looking at what was undoubtedly Schröder’s biggest weakness last year, it’s easy to understand why his early season play is so startling. In his rookie season, the German was a turnover machine, averaging 1.2 giveaways in just more than 13 minutes of play.

This often caused Schröder to be brought into a game off the bench, only to be immediately subbed off for his reckless play by coach Mike Budenholzer.

To start this season off, Schröder has transformed into the picture of efficiency though. In eleven minutes per game, Schröder is only turning the ball over 0.3 times a night. Translate that into an assist-to-turnover ratio of 4.0, and all of sudden Schröder is looking like a player who can be trusted.

It hasn’t only been the fact that the German has cut down on his turnovers that has made him stand out in the season’s early exchanges either, as Schröder’s controlled aggression on the offensive end is allowing him to get to the basket much easier than he did during the entirety of last season.

Having only averaged 3.7 points on 38.3 percent shooting from the field last season, the 21-year-old has started this season on fire. Schröder is currently averaging 7.8 points on an outstanding 73.3 percent field goal success rate.

The difference between those two numbers simply seems to come down to an increased understanding from Schröder following a year in the NBA.

The youngster has recognized the distinct advantage his incredible foot speed gives him, and he’s utilizing it better than ever. In his past three games, Schröder has done a great job at taking advantage of mismatches, penetrating to the basket, and getting himself high percentage looks.

It’s still very early, and it’s such a small sample size that the instant reaction of Hawks’ fans still has to be to question whether this run of play is sustainable.

For the time being though, Atlanta will have to be extremely satisfied with these glimpses of potential from Dennis Schröder, and hopeful that it can continue for long into the future.

Next: Atlanta Hawks: Resilient Comebacks Are A Promising Sign

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