DALLAS — Dennis Schroder played perhaps his finest game of the season in a 105-102 victory against the Dallas Mavericks on Monday night.
Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle was suitably impressed, not only by Schroder but by the entire Hawks organization.
“In my mind, this is the most underrated team in basketball, and the most underrated coach in basketball,” he said. “Right now, with the way everybody’s playing, this is a team that realistically could be the team coming out of the East in the playoffs. They’re playing that well.”
Schroder scored a season-high 22 points and dished six assists, and he acted as the speedy catalyst for the Hawks on a night during which their red-hot 3-point shooting temporarily stalled. Schroder got the better of Rajon Rondo, who was playing his second game for the Mavericks, desperately in need of perimeter defense. However, neither Rondo nor backup point guard Devin Harris were able to contain Schroder.
The second-year guard was humming all around the floor, whether he was weaving his way through the Dallas pick-and-roll defense, featuring Rondo and Tyson Chandler, or hitting jump shots. Not known for his long-distance shooting, Schroder knocked down half of his six field-goal attempts from outside of the paint; he nailed an 18-footer to put the Hawks up 10 with under 90 seconds to go, effectively putting the game out of reach. The German proved to be too difficult an assignment for the Mavericks.
Schroder has the wingspan and quickness required to cut off driving lanes against most point guards, and his athleticism combined with Atlanta’s general strategy of going under every Mavericks screen for the point guard forced Rondo into mostly jump shots, never his strong suit.
“I thought he was good defensively, and then on the other end, he found ways to get to the basket and attack, and he hit a big shot there late,” Hawks coach Mike Budenholzer said. “He did a lot of good things. Like our group, we want him to keep improving and keep getting better.”
