Getty Dennis Schroder of the Boston Celtics guarding the Brooklyn Nets Patty Mills.
Dennis Schroder has been a shining light in an otherwise murky start to the Boston Celtics season. Stepping into the starting lineup on numerous occasions, Schroder has provided the scoring and rim pressure that Boston sorely needs.
However, with Jaylen Brown now working his way back to full fitness and Robert Williams also returning to the rotation, Schroder will likely find himself working his magic off the bench. Coming into the season, Schroder was widely billed as the Celtics sixth man, giving the team a punch off the bench, which was a significant point of contention for this roster during the 2020-21 NBA season.
Yet, following multiple games where Schroder’s scoring has kept the team within touching distance or outright won them the game, there have been calls for him to remain in the team’s starting five long-term. The issue with Schroder moving into the Celtics starting lineup is that a back-court pairing of him and Marcus Smart provides little to no floor-spacing, nor is there much playmaking on the perimeter.
Biggest issue with Smart Schroder and Al is the fact they absolutely can’t hit an open three. They’ve been decent to great just about everywhere else.
Some may feel that Smart should be the player to embrace a bench role, allowing Schroder’s scoring prowess to supplement Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown on a nightly basis.
Sure, Schroder with the starting five may make sense on the surface. Still, losing that punch off the bench, potentially unsettling Smart, and limiting the playmaking around Tatum and Brown are solid reasons to envision Schroder fulfilling the role he initially signed for now that the team is healthy.
The question now becomes, will Schroder happily assimilate himself to a bench role for the remainder of the season, or will the role change affect his play on the court? Speaking on a recent episode of The Garden Report, Celtics Insider’s Bob Ryan and Jeff Goodman also had similar questions around Schroder’s commitment to impacting games from the bench.
“He was happy, I’m sure, very happy, as a starter. Now, his role has been revised. Let’s see if he can accommodate himself to coming off the bench now that Brown is back. If he can, he can be a tremendous asset. He does fit the mold of a good third guard,” Ryan said during the podcast.
Buy-In Or ‘Struggle to Stay in This League’
During the discussion on The Garden Report, Goodman, the NBA Insider, details what he perceives as “red flags” around Schroder and his lockerroom presence.
“Playing for a contract, right? That motivates a lot of people, especially when you didn’t get paid what you thought you were going to get paid last season. I think Schroder is a guy, we talked about this when they signed him, a lot of red flags with Schroder, that’s why he didn’t get the contract. He’s got the talent, there is no question he has got the physical ability and gifts to be a starting point guard, maybe even a top-half of the league starting point guard.
But the big thing from talking to enough people who played with him and coached him—moody, selfish, not a great teammate. That is gonna be the key for Dennis Schroder now. Coming off the bench, do you buy into that? He’s pretty much got no choice. If his agent has done his job, he’s told Dennis Schroder, like, this is gonna be it for you. If you buy in and you’re really good in Boston, you’re gonna get another big-time deal. If not, you’re gonna struggle to stay in this league.”
Goodman’s comments come after Schroder reportedly turned down an $84 million contract extension from the Los Angeles Lakers, only to find out there wasn’t a market for his services during the summer. Schroder’s inability to find another big deal is what led him to join the Celtics on a one-year $5.8 million contract, per Spotrac.
Schroder’s value is currently on the rise following his impressive stint with the Celtics starters, yet most teams around the league have their starting point guard spot tied down. They will be watching how the veteran guard adapts to coming off the Celtics bench – especially if they plan to reach out with an offer during the summer.
Schroder’s Talent Isn’t in Question.
It’s fair to say that nobody is questioning Schroder’s talent on the basketball court. We’ve all seen what the 9th year guard is capable of. However, the questions surrounding Schroder’s commitment to a team agenda, rather than his own, continue to crop up in the media.
Is Schroder committed to playing basketball how Ime Udoka wants it played? Will he make the right pass rather than force shots up to inflate his own numbers? And most importantly, will Schroder give the same effort off the bench as what he does when he’s in the starting five? These questions are valid, and we should start to get some answers in the coming weeks.
However, legendary Celtics reporter Bob Ryan also has some gripes with the on-court production we’ve seen from the Celtics’ latest guard acquisition, “He’s still too sloppy with the ball. Even on a good night, even that night, he is still too sloppy, he throws more passes to nobody than he should., by and large, he has been an asset, he does defend, very well,” Ryan said when talking to Goodman on The Garden Report.
Schroder, who has started 11 of the Celtics 19 games this season, has been a steadying force for Ime Udoka’s men, averaging 17.5 points, 4.9 assists, and 3.9 rebounds in 33.1 minutes of play.
While the Celtics are rumored to have an interest in bringing Schroder back next year, his willingness to accept a bench role will be a deciding factor, both in Boston and anywhere else in the league.