The Warriors have needed a second scorer to take the burden off Stephen Curry. They may have found it in Dennis Schroder, who averaged 18.4 points and 6.6 assists for the Nets, but it will depend on how they use him.
Schroder is a very talented guard. He can also be a tough guy to fit into a system. It’s one of the reasons he has been on eight teams over the last eight seasons.
Despite that alarming statistic, the Warriors are confident they can get the most out of Schroder. Here’s how they plan to do it.
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How Dennis Schroder can help the Warriors
Schroder’s role on the Warriors will be interesting. He was brought on primarily to help improve Golden State’s No. 14 offense, but he doesn’t fit into Steve Kerr’s system.
Schroder’s best asset as a player is his lightning-quick first step. He’s great at getting into the paint — he ranks 12th in the league in drives per game. That makes him a very good pick-and-roll guard who can collapse defenses and spray it out to shooters.
The Warriors have never been a pick-and-roll-heavy team during the Kerr era. They prefer running motion sets with a ton of off-ball screening and cutting involved. They’re bottom-four this season in how often they run pick-and-rolls with the ball handler and roller.
Kerr is well aware of this and willing to adjust his offense to incorporate more of Schroder’s strengths.
“We actually need a pick-and-roll player right now,” Kerr told The Athletic’s Anthony Slater. “The last 10 games, our pick-and-roll efficiency is dead last in the league. Teams are loading up on Steph. You can’t ask him to run every pick-and-roll. Dennis is a pick-and-roll player.
“I think if you look at the league, the way it has evolved the last few years, the best offenses all have two point guards.”
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This isn’t the first time that Kerr has tried to modify his offense to fit a guard with a different type of skill set. Chris Paul is one of the best pick-and-roll maestros in the league, and Kerr made similar tweaks to the team’s offense last season to best utilize him.
“Dennis is a guy who, yes, he likes running pick-and-roll,” Kerr continued. “We like running off-ball stuff. But we like running both. A year ago, we had Chris Paul, and Chris was great. We ran a ton of pick-and-roll with Chris and our offense was pretty good, I think seventh at the end of the year in efficiency.”
Paul thrived on the Warriors by leading the bench units with that pick-and-roll attack. If Schroder can do the same, it will be a massive help. They have been killing teams with Curry on the floor but are being outscored when he sits.
Running more pick-and-rolls with Schroder is a good idea and should get the Warriors playing a more modern style of basketball. Draymond Green is a fan of the idea, acknowledging that Golden State needs to change.
“I don’t think he was necessarily brought here to fit,” Green told Slater. “We play a certain style of basketball that he does not really play. And I don’t think the goal is to get him to play the style of basketball we play. We need someone who does the things that he does. I’m looking forward to us adjusting to him.”
Schroder should help the offense with his 38.7 percent 3-point shooting and offensive creation. But what about the defensive side of the ball? The Warriors have stayed competitive in games because of their No. 6 defense, which has ramped up in aggression under new assistant Jerry Stackhouse.
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Kerr is confident that Schroder can be a two-way player, calling him “an excellent defender” who is “a steals guy, forces turnovers.”
That’s certainly been the case when he’s locked in. He can be extremely disruptive both on and off the ball, as the Warriors have witnessed firsthand during the playoffs.
Here’s how Dennis Schroder’s technique & play recognition completely blew up one of the Warriors’ best plays from Game 2.
🔊 on: pic.twitter.com/y1HnUEvZO3
— Steph Noh (@StephNoh) May 7, 2023
Schroder is a very good screen navigator and a physical player who makes life tough on opposing guards when he plays hard. That effort can come and go. He has been on several teams where he’s looked totally checked out and been a weak link defensively. He’s also been the best perimeter defender on the roster in other situations, such as with the Lakers.
Kerr has managed many big personalities in Golden State. He will have his hands full with Schroder, who is a talented guard but isn’t always the easiest player to deal with.
The Warriors always have the option of trading Schroder again right before the trade deadline if he doesn’t work out. If he does, he can give this team the shot in the arm that it has been looking for. It may just be a little different than what fans have been accustomed to seeing, with a slightly more stagnant offense and a heavy pick-and-roll attack.
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