Atlanta Hawks: Clutch Situations Reveal Dennis Schroder Isn’t Ready To Start
By Adam McGee
If Dennis Schroder can’t be relied upon down the stretch in games, is there any way that the Atlanta Hawks could trust him to start?
The Atlanta Hawks‘ start to the season has been strange to say the least. From losing two games to teams like the Brooklyn Nets and Minnesota Timberwolves (twice), to Mike Budenholzer’s ejection for bumping a referee, to Tim Hardaway Jr.’s limited involvement after arriving in a trade that saw Atlanta’s first round pick move in the opposite direction; it’s hard to get a handle on where they are.
With niggling injuries to Jeff Teague, one of the positives for many Hawks fans early in the season would have been the chance to see greater opportunities afforded to their young third-year point guard Dennis Schroder.
The German has exceptional talent and unshakeable confidence, yet it’s the combination of the two that makes him a bit of an enigma.
He’ll throw a wild pass to commit a sloppy turnover, and then next time down the floor he’ll go and hit a Larry Bird walk-away three pointer.
He’ll lose concentration and blow a defensive coverage, before then making a big play at the other end and performing for the cameras.
All of that is just who Schroder is. That’s who he was when he grabbed a handful of DeMarcus Cousins a week into his time in the league, and that’s who he’ll likely be for the rest of his career.
Of course, there are positives and negatives to that, but what’s undeniable is that it gives Schroder the potential to be a leading figure going forward.
He’s got the fearlessness that’s required to thrive as a top NBA point guard, but it’s just about him learning how to find the necessary level of control too.
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All of this creates a fascinating situation and dynamic for the Hawks as a franchise moving forward, but also here in the present. Atlanta’s fanbase is slowly being divided up into two camps: those who want Jeff Teague to continue his good work, and those who want the reins handed over to Schröder.
Prior to the season there were reports coming out of Germany stating that Schröder was prepared to demand a trade if he didn’t find a starter’s role in Atlanta this season, although Schroder himself has since refuted those claims in an interview with German sport website Spox.
According to a translation of the interview by a user on the Atlanta Hawks sub-Reddit, Schroder is quoted as saying:
"“That’s complete nonsense. I actually didn’t want to comment this issue anymore, since my words got twisted the last time I did. Of course I want to start eventually, that goes without saying. But I never said I want to leave Atlanta, if I’m not a starter soon.“The opposite is the case. My contract with the Hawks was recently extended, and I can’t wait to be a part of this team for the years to come. I have incredible teammates that have welcomed me and backed me since day one. It’s incredible to play here, and I am very pleased with the situation.”"
One way or another, if this sort of tension doesn’t really exist now, it’s inevitable that it will rear its head further down the line. Teague is the team’s All-Star point guard and one of their primary leaders on the floor, but the German continues to get better and has undeniably been effective so far this season.
While shooting marks of 39.1 percent from the field and 31.7 percent from deep aren’t particularly efficient, raw numbers of 11.1 points, 4.6 rebounds and, most importantly, only 1.9 turnovers per game in 23 minutes of play are marked improvements.
Schroder is also rebounding and stealing at his highest ever rate per 36 minutes, where the rest of his numbers round out positively at 17.0 points and 7.0 assists too.
Per NBA Stats, Schroder is posting a net rating of 4.7, a positive influence due to a team offensive rating of 104.2 and a defensive rating of 99.5 when the German is on the floor. That’s good by anybody’s measure.
There’s a glaring problem though that’s come to light recently that goes a way towards rendering all of that into insignificance.
Very simply, it doesn’t seem like Schroder can be trusted with the ball in his hands late in close game situations.
NBA.com classifies clutch situations as games with a margin of five points or less with five minutes or less remaining, or three points or less within the final 30 seconds. For Schroder, looking at his splits within that timeframe tells an interesting story.
With five and three minutes remaining, Schroder thrives. Net ratings of 10.0 and 8.9 respectively accompanied by high assist percentages seem like evidence of a player in control as the clock ticks down.
As it gets really late in the game, Schroder’s game gets considerably more chaotic though. In recent losses to Brooklyn and Utah, there’s been a noticeable trend to those looking on, as Schroder hasn’t looked composed, and frankly seems to forget to run any real offense.
First up came the Utah Jazz. The Hawks trailed by one point with 10 seconds remaining, and having collected a defensive rebound off the back of a Derrick Favors miss, coach Mike Budenholzer allowed his team to let it play out.
With the ball in Dennis Schroder’s hands, Atlanta moved up court, but when the youngster ran himself into a dead end without a second thought, Budenholzer was forced to intervene with a timeout having watched Schroder burn considerable time off the clock.
Two days later, Atlanta headed into Brooklyn to try and get back on track. With the ball in their hands, Atlanta had a chance to almost seal the game as it was tied at 88, so Schroder looked to initiate the offense.
Whether it was a lack of communication or a misread, he twice failed to read Al Horford‘s screen, leaving him in a scramble to get around Jarrett Jack. In the panic, the German lost his footing, almost turning the ball over.
Somehow, Schroder returned to his feet and Atlanta managed to retain possession, but with the shot clock set to expire, the onus was now on him to throw up a forced runner to try and win the game.
The pure panic that the whole sequence created meant that when the shot missed, Brooklyn was in position to grab the board and attack in transition. The Hawks had no option but to foul Thaddeus Young, virtually gifting Brooklyn the game.
On these particular occasions, Teague was ruled out due to injury, so Atlanta was left with little option than to trust that Schroder could perform in the moment, but having done nothing to inspire confidence, he may not find himself in that spot too frequently in the future.
I’m sure the Hawks won’t be so flippant as to make important decisions for their future immediately, but right now, Teague has a definite edge at the point guard spot.
If Schroder can’t be relied upon when it matters most, it may end up being the team rather than the player that looks to move in a different direction.