Boston Celtics: 1 stud and 1 dud from epic showdown vs. Knicks

Boston Celtics dud: Dennis Schroder

If one were just looking at his counting stats alone, many would be under the impression that Dennis Schroder had himself a solid showing during his regular-season debut showing with the Boston Celtics, as he put up 12 points, eight assists, three rebounds, and a steal in 32 minutes of action.

That said, watching him play told a rather different story about his night.

Again, while his stat-line was sound, he put up these numbers in a not-so efficient manner, as the man is widely known for his scoring prowess only managed to shoot at a 31 percent clip from the field and an even worse 25 percent shooting from deep while finishing the game with a team-low -16 box plus-minus.

On top of this, he didn’t wind up making his first shot until the 1:36 mark of the second quarter and would go on to miss all four of his attempts during both overtime periods, the majority of which were uncontested shots.

Now yes, he did wind up dishing out a nice number of assists, which obviously were beneficial and we’re quite pleased with his dime total. However, he wasn’t viewed as the best signing of 2021’s free agency period solely because of his passing abilities.

Yes, that absolutely played a part, but this with his known scoring touch is what warranted such an impressive moniker.

If he were to have hit one or two more of his open attempts, perhaps we’d be talking about what a stellar win that the Boston Celtics had rather than discussing this upsetting loss — though, admittedly, the same could be said about Jayson Tatum and his 30 attempts.

While we actually liked a lot of what Schroder brought to the table in game one, his uninspiring shooting efficiency is what makes him our choice for the C’s dud.

Hopefully his stroke can come back to form in Friday’s game two when Boston heads back to the TD Garden to take on the Toronto Raptors.