Boston Celtics: The good and bad of Dennis Schroder’s game

The good and bad of Dennis Schroder’s defense

A major reason why the Boston Celtics have taken such a significant interest in acquiring Schroder is because of his high-level defense. He provides elite point of attack defense and between him, Marcus Smart, and Williams, Boston’s defense will have the most active hands in the league.

Schroder is great at pickpocketing careless bigs or stripping loose ball-handlers, leveraging his 6-8 wingspan to overwhelm opposing creators.

Schroder has a very high motor, often picking up opposing guards in a full-court press, and possesses high caliber screen navigation to keep up with screen-heavy guards. He’s positionally aware and is very good at denying the ball, often leading to steals that ignite transition plays.

The only weakness in Schroder’s defensive game is his size and his underwhelming help instincts.

At 6-3, 172 pounds, he can quickly be taken advantage of by bigger creators in the post or when going downhill.

If Schroder can’t get his hands on the ball before the opposing offensive creator steps on him, he will be very quickly beaten off the dribble.

Schroder is not a liability as an off-ball defender, but he’s also not a high-level contributor. He doesn’t step off his man to get in passing lanes and doesn’t offer much help outside of digs, meaning teams can limit Schroder’s impact by not putting him in action.

However, with all the defensive talent the Boston Celtics possess, if a team is choosing to go around Schroder, then chances are that means they are going at Smart, Tatum, or Brown, who are all superior defenders to Schroder anyways.