If there were doubts that playing against the big D is any different for Dennis Schroder, the Hawks’ backup point guard likely put them to rest Wednesday with 17 points off the bench. He scored a career-high 22 in Dallas last autumn, too, so for the Mavs Dennis has become a menace.
“Yeah, I think Dennis likes playing Dallas for a couple reasons,” teammate Kyle Korver said after Schroder led Atlanta in scoring in a 104-87 win. “It’s the German thing.”
Indeed, leading Atlanta’s bounce-back from a dreadful 34-22 first-quarter hole, Schroder was special. He scored eight points in the second while draining 2-of-3 3-pointers and adding two of his four assists.
Yep, there’s something about the big D – Dirk Nowitzki.
Schroder’s countryman, easily the most famous German basketball player, was in the house with the Mavs.
So, Dennis did what he does with amplitude in helping the Hawks pull within 53-47 by halftime.
On a a 7-of-15 shooting night that included a career-high three 3-pointers made in five attempts, he brought attitude.
“With Dirk, another German player, yeah, I’m competitive, too,” Schroder said. “You want to show other German players that you can play the game at a high level.”
Nowitzki, 36, scored four points and grabbed five rebounds in the Mavs’ fourth game in five nights.
Schroder, 21, was a factor in nearly all of his 21:06.
His long ball with 10:06 left in the game, good for an 86-68 lead, highlighted one of his biggest improvements.
Opponents look for the second-year pro chiefly to drive and pass, take the ball all the way or initiate a pick-and-roll.
He and the Hawks see that, so when an opponent backs off, Schroder is shooting more from afar. At 32.1 percent from 3-point territory, he’s not yet a sniper. Yet after making 23.8 percent as a rookie, he’s trending upward.
“Dennis keeps working on his shot, getting better,” Korver said. “He’s so tough when he gets his momentum going to the basket. He’s almost slinky around the hoop.
“A lot of teams have been going under on him, and we’ve been talking about that a lot with Jeff [Teague], too, and those guys keep working on knocking down that shot.”
When a German media member asked Korver if he sees a difference in Schroder’s skill set vs. that of Americans, Atlanta’s sharpest shooter suggested that the Hawks play under head coach Mike Budenholzer is a style more common in Europe.
So, Schroder fits. Perhaps Nowitzki would rather not see him on a court in the NBA.
In the offseason? Maybe. They stay in touch, spoke before Wednesday’s game, and may join forces this summer in the same uniform, that of Germany. Schroder is from Braunschweig, and Nowitzki Wurzburg.
“We’ve talked to [Portland’s] Chris Kaman, too. We all want to play,” he said. “At the end of the season … if we’re healthy we’ll play, I hope.”
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