While his team had been meeting for just the seventh practice since the start of the regular season, Lakers coach Frank Vogel decided to turn things around. To break the monotony of a fast-paced regular season made even more gloomy and isolated by the NBA’s strict but necessary COVID protocols, he took his team out to exercise under the beautiful Los Angeles sun across the street from the training center . And after watching Dennis Schröder and the rest of his team cut your feet in some football exercises, Vogel was asked how his initial point guard used his speed to attack the screens, but he wanted to focus on what Schröder did on the other side of the court.
“Its impact was felt more on the defensive end than even on the offensive,” said Vogel. “His speed is a problem for the opposing teams. It’s a problem for guys like Kemba Walker and Trae Young when they’re trying to get on the track, when they’re trying to keep him from jumping. “
Sometimes a basketball team just needs a hit of energy. In this case, Schröder’s intensity is like a conscious version of the effect of practicing outside to change things and instill some newfound enthusiasm. He’s just ever moving with contagious energy, and it’s probably the only kind of spread that the Lakers want this season. While Vogel talked about the Lakers’ previous two wins, he could easily be talking about Schröder’s effort to win the Denver Nuggets, when Schröder’s double jump made Vogel so excited that he ran to the ground to help the 27-year-old. to take off:
Schröder’s agitation was one of the few signs of life for the Lakers’ defense in his first two quarters on Thursday, and in addition to Vogel lighting the team for his lack of effort at half-time, it was one of the things that Anthony Davis gave credit them turning a disheartening effort into a comeback, a 114-93 victory in the second half.
“He’s making great plays for us. It is climbing 94 feet. He’s everywhere. Your hands are on the ball, ”said Davis. “He’s doing everything for us.”
So far, the figures have not reflected this level of impact. In fact, they show the complete opposite. The Lakers are never worse off defensively – allowing 107.2 points per 100 possessions – than when Schröder plays, and never better than when he sits (96.4) according to NBA.com. This trend predominated against Nuggets, but these numbers also ignore the context a little.
On the one hand, Schröder is often replaced by Alex Caruso, whose defensive on / off ratings (97.1 and 106.3, respectively) are Schröder’s exact inverse in which – among rotating players – the team is never better when he is on the floor and never worse than when he sits down. Considering that Caruso is one of the best defenders in the NBA, it is difficult to penalize Schröder too much for that.
To some extent, this can also be an example of what I will call the “Avery Bradley Effect”. Throughout the past year, the Lakers praised Bradley’s defense and the momentum it gave them, although before the NBA shutdown, they had improved only marginally with Bradley on the ground. Unlike Schröder, the Lakers were Best with Bradley on the floor, but the difference was basically negligible (a defensive rating 104 on vs. 105.2 off).
Still, the team felt that Bradley gave them some electricity and inspired the team with their excitement. The numbers don’t always account for these things, but with plays like Schröder’s the night before, or the way he chased Young and Walker in their previous games, it’s easy to see that he’s making an impact on defense. He’s just playing in front of someone who is even better, but it’s also obvious that the team is inspired by how much heart the zealous guard is playing on that side.
When the Lakers acquired Schröder, most of the focus was on the attack, but despite the numbers, it is clear that the team feels that it has made more of an impact on the way they are using their natural tools on the other side. Will he win Defender of the Year soon? No. Is he really a great defender? Probably not, but he’s a good guy, and his eyesight test indicates he’s better than his metrics and reputation would suggest at that end of the room.
“He uses that defensive presence,” said Vogel. “His speed is one of the reasons why we have him on this team, and he has certainly given us a lot of help in that regard.”
That’s why Vogel clearly wants to raise Schröder too, whether it be correcting a national reporter’s question about the attack to light up Schröder’s defense or literally scraping him off the ground after he leaves everything out there in the wood.
For more Lakers speak, subscribe to the Silver Screen and Roll podcast feed at iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher or Google Podcasts. You can follow Harrison on Twitter at @hmfaigen.