Boston Celtics takeaway No. 2) Dennis Schroder succeeds without Smart
Dennis Schroder had an extraordinary game for the Boston Celtics, especially down the stretch scoring 11 of his 23 points in the final period.
Coach Ime Udoka played him the entire second half, and deservingly so as he was moving around the ball more than he usually does whilst running a competitive offense.
He scored his 23 points on 9-16 shooting, while also recording nine assists and five rebounds.
Schroder had the ball in his hands much of the second half, and it paid off, as he was both scoring in isolation and finding open teammates for easy buckets.
Dennis has the ability to take bigger, slower defenders off the dribble in one-on-one situations, beating them to the rim for the easy finish. He doesn’t take advantage of that skill set enough, settling for difficult jump shots that end with empty possessions.
When Schroder keeps the ball moving in the offensive set, he can be a productive traditional point guard. Additionally, without Marcus Smart on the floor, Schroder can operate much more freely, as he doesn’t have to play as an off-ball spot-up shooter, something that he’s never been successful at throughout his career.
This type of performance doesn’t say anything about Smart’s fit on the team, but rather the specific fit between Schroder and Smart, and how they shouldn’t see any more playing time together. With trade rumors running rampant for the point guard, it will be interesting to see how this stretch of good play affects his value.
On Monday, everything was falling for the veteran, which was a delight to see in his 41 minutes of action.