Atlanta Hawks: 2017-18 player grades for Dennis Schroder

Weaknesses

While there were plenty of numbers that displayed Schroder’s improvement, there were also plenty that showed that the young guard still has plenty to work on. For one thing, Schroder has to improve his overall marksmanship if he wants to put his passing to good use. As his field goal attempts increased (career-high 17.1 per game), his efficiency went down. Schroder’s true shooting percentage dipped from .533 last year to .515 in 2017-18.

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Even more alarming was his ineffectiveness from 3-point range, as he sunk below 30 percent for the first time since his rookie year. He was atrocious from the corner, the easiest 3 to make, sinking only 20 percent of those. This level of efficiency from 3, or lack thereof, is unacceptable in today’s game.

It’s easy to see now why Schroder struggled so much on ball screens. He wasn’t terrible, averaging 0.88 points per possession as the pick-and-roll ball handler, but there were times where his deficiencies hurt the team.

Schroder does most of his damage driving to the basket and using his speed to create problems for opposing defenses. However, teams will be more willing to surrender space to cut off drives and goad Schroder into shooting jumpers. Much like Kemba Walker, Schroder will have to work on his shot to take that strategy away from future adversaries.

Despite his status as the Hawks’ “best” player, the team was slightly better when Schroder went to the bench (-5.3 compared to -6.7 when he played). He also struggled defensively as his defensive metrics will attest (-2.2 defensive box plus/minus). All of this adds up to equal a player that was a bit overmatched as a starter.