Dennis Schroder is having a major impact off the bench for the Oklahoma City Thunder this season, making his case for the Sixth Man of the Year award.
Since being acquired from the Atlanta Hawks this past summer, Dennis Schroder has been nothing short of spectacular off of the bench for the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Although Schroder started at point guard every game he played for the Hawks in the two prior seasons, he put his ego aside and was willing to come off the bench and lead the second unit.
Schroder was willing to have a sixth man role, as he was eager to just go out and win basketball games.
Dennis Schroder on trade from Hawks to Thunder: ‘I wanted to be in a winning-mentality organization. You just can’t go out there and try to lose’ https://t.co/PQLaL6Z4Ru
— Kurt Helin (@basketballtalk) January 16, 2019
In hindsight, Sam Presti looks like a genius for getting rid of Carmelo Anthony‘s outrageous $27.9 million contract and turning it into three years of Dennis Schroder at $15.5 million per year.
Not only has Schroder been spectacular off the bench for the Thunder this season, but with Russell Westbrook having some injury problems, he has started 10 games for OKC. Whether Westbrook is out with injury, or just on the bench taking a breather, Schroder has shown the ability to be a true leader and ensure the high level of play continues with the second unit on the floor.
This has been a problem in recent years for Oklahoma City, with backup point guards like Raymond Felton and Semaj Christon not being able to run a sustainable offense while Westbrook is on the bench. The Thunder were known for losing leads and having a drop in offensive production when Russ was not in the floor.
In fact, in the 2016-17 season, when Westbrook was on the bench, the Thunder’s offensive rating dropped 8.5 points. In 2017-18, their offensive rating dropped 5.7 points. With Schroder being on the team and efficiently running the second unit, the Thunder’s offensive rating only drops 1.6 points, meaning the Thunder don’t collapse when he takes a seat on the bench.
In the 46 overall games Schroder has played for the Thunder, he has averaged 15.4 points, 4.3 assists and 3.5 rebounds in 28.7 minutes per game. These are some of the best numbers Oklahoma City has seen from a bench player since James Harden, who won the Sixth Man of the Year award for the Thunder in the 2011-12 season. Schroder’s 4.3 assists per night ranks 39th in the NBA among all players, and is a higher number than several starting point guards in the league.
What is most impressive about Schroder’s stats is how much of the bench production he puts out singlehandedly. OKC’s bench this season is averaging 31.5 points, 5.8 assists and 13.5 rebounds per game. To do the math for you, this means Schroder makes up 48.9 percent of the points, 74.1 percent of the assists, and 26.7 percent of the rebounds the bench unit produces. Those are absurd numbers for one player to produce in a bench unit.
The stats are great, but numbers aren’t everything. Just watching the Thunder play, Schroder has a very similar style of play as Westbrook. In fact, he even admitted when being traded to the Thunder that Westbrook was one of his favorite players in the NBA and even modeled his game after him.
Dennis Schröder’s favorite player/idol/role model: Russ Westbrook. This should be interesting.
— Ric Bucher (@RicBucher) July 19, 2018
This similar style of play results in the flow of the game being consistent throughout, as the Thunder continue their fast-pace offense when Westbrook is off the floor, never missing a beat. This results in players not having to adjust their games whether Schroder or Westbrook is running the offense.
Schroder always seems to show up in big moments, and isn’t afraid of the spotlight. On the road against the Golden State Warriors in November, he went off for 32 points off the bench, contributing most when it mattered. Just last week against the Philadelphia 76ers, with the Thunder having just lost five of their last six games, he put up 16 points in the first half to keep the Thunder in the game, ultimately leading to a victory.
On a star-heavy Thunder roster, with potentially three All-Star players this season, Schroder has led the team in scoring twice this season as well as led the team in assists six times.
Some of Schroder’s competition for Sixth Man of the Year includes Dwyane Wade, Derrick Rose, Montrezl Harrell, Spencer Dinwiddie, Bogdan Bogdanovic and, of course, Lou Williams.
Only half of those players are on current playoff teams (Williams, Harrell and Dinwiddie). Of those three players, Schroder is certainly on the most star-driven team, with the least opportunity to make an impact. With that in mind, Schroder’s impact is even more impressive considering he is playing behind, and at times alongside, Russell Westbrook, who has a usage rate of 30.1 percent this season.
If the Sixth Man of the Year award is chosen anything like the MVP Award, being on a winning, championship contender should be a big factor. The Thunder are currently third in the Western Conference, even with former MVP Russell Westbrook missing 17.4 percent of the Thunder’s games thus far.
There is a lot of season left, but if Dennis Schroder keeps this level of production up, he should certainly be a finalist for the Sixth Man of the Year Award.