Getty Los Angeles Lakers guard Dennis Schroder.
There’s been no player on the Los Angeles Lakers hurting their value more than Dennis Schroder. The veteran guard turned down a four-year deal with $84 million, according to ESPN’s Brian Windhorst, which means he could be looking for something close to $100 million over a four-year contract. If he doesn’t turn things around quickly, there’s no way he’s getting that much money.
The Lakers faced a pivotal Game 5 against the Phoenix Suns on Tuesday and they were missing Anthony Davis due to a groin injury. Instead of stepping up and acting as a second star for LeBron James to work with, he had his worst game of the season. Schroder ended the game with zero points, four rebounds and one assist. It’s hard to imagine a healthy starter playing much worse than that.
Kendrick Perkins has been very critical of Schroder recently and called out the guard’s “audacity” for even thinking he was worth more than $84 million.
Schroder has had a couple of nice games against the Suns in the playoffs but faltered when the Lakers needed him most. Los Angeles might only have one more game left this season. Schroder best make sure he puts together an excellent performance if he hopes to get paid this offseason.
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Schroder Won’t Watch Film on Game 6
It’s hard to remember a playoff performance this bad by the Lakers. They were down big early and ended up losing 115 to 85. The game was so bad that Schroder isn’t planning on watching film on it.
“I don’t even know if I’m watching film on that one,” Schroder said after the loss. “I think we got to flush that one, stay positive and be better in Game 6.”
The Lakers likely can’t play any worse than they did on Tuesday. It’s looking possible that defending champions get knocked out of the playoffs in the first round.
Schroder Addresses What Lakers Need to Do
It’s do-or-die time for the Lakers. They head back to Los Angeles on Thursday to play Game 6. If the team loses, the season is over. They can’t afford to lay an egg as they did on Tuesday. Schroder knows he needs to play better if the Lakers are going to win.
“At the end of the day, we can’t use that as an excuse,” Schroder said of Lakers’ injury issues. “I know some people was out through different stuff, but at the end of the day, it’s 48 minutes and like I say, it starts with me, how we approach the game defensively and how we’re getting down offensively. I think we’ve just got to do better there. I mean, of course, everybody was out at times. It wasn’t easy, but going through adversity, like I said before, I think it’s good for us. And we’ve just got to stay together, everybody’s got to stay focused, have fun, go out there and play. I mean, we can’t use that as an excuse.”
The Lakers haven’t had Anthony Davis over the last one and half games. That’s a pretty good excuse for why they aren’t winning. However, when your team is led by LeBron James, there are no excuses for losing. The whole team needs to step up or there will likely be major changes in the offseason.
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