"He's played enough basketball, so we know he'll be alright" - LeBron James reacts to offseason acquisition’s underwhelming outing in loss against Minnesota Timberwolves
LA Lakers superstar LeBron James believes Dennis Schroder will eventually find his rhythm.
Schroder's second stint with the franchise began with an underwhelming outing in the Lakers' 118-113 loss against the Minnesota Timberwolves. He came off the bench to play nine minutes. Schroder failed to score, missing all four of his field goal attempts.
After the game, James told reporters the team was glad to have Schroder back, and wants to get him up to speed on their system for next season. He said (via Spectrum SportsNet):
"I don't really care about the misses and the makes, we just want to get him caught up to speed on what we've been doing," said LeBron James. "Cause' he's played enough basketball, so we know he'll be alright."
"Our job is to clean glass if we're going to play small at times." - LeBron James on adapting to Darvin Ham's system and playing with a small-ball lineup.
#Lakers https://t.co/ric2XHUPF8
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Schroder joined the Lakers on the back of an excellent EuroBasket campaign with Germany. He averaged 22.1 points and 7.3 assists per game, shooting on a 45/32/91 clip. Schroder led Germany to a bronze medal win and made the all-tournament team.
LeBron James and the LA Lakers know of Schroder's heroics at the tournament. So despite an underwhelming performance in his first game back with LA, the team will be confident of him making a difference once the regular season starts.
🪣Dennis Schroder raining buckets! 👌🪣
https://t.co/nabLb4HtLo
Dennis Schroder aims to deal with "unfinished business" in second stint with LeBron James and LA Lakers
Dennis Schroder has stated that he has "unfinished business" with the LA Lakers.
He was part of the 2020-21 team that hoped to win a second consecutive championship after their success in the bubble. The Lakers were 22-7 to start the season, with Schroder proving to be an excellent pick-up until then.
Dennis Schroder fueled the @Lakers with 21 PTS, 10 AST! #LakeShow https://t.co/feq1iq6Rwp
However, LeBron James and Anthony Davis went down with injuries, which derailed the Lakers' season. Schroder's performances also dipped.
The Lakers eventually finished with a 42-40 record and lost in the first round of the playoffs against the Phoenix Suns.
Schroder averaged 15.4 points and 5.8 assists per game that season and 14.3 points and 2.8 assists on 40% field goal shooting in the postseason. LA eventually decided not to re-sign the guard in the offseason as a free agent.
Reports suggest Schroder could have had the opportunity to extend for a four-year $80 sum, but he decided to wait until the offseason to negotiate. The LA Lakers then acquired Russell Westbrook in a trade, ending Schroder's tenure with the franchise.
The German point guard then signed with the Boston Celtics on their midlevel exception. He also played for the Houston Rockets last season.
Things obviously didn't go according to plans for the Schroder during his first stint with the Lakers, despite a bright start. He views this second opportunity as a way to make amends.
Here's what he told ESPN about this recently:
"I'm going to make sure everything I can do, I'll bring to the team to win ballgames," Schroder said. "I mean, Coach Darvin [Ham] knows. He's known me for 10 years now. He knows what I bring. And whatever it is, I'm going to do whatever to get a W and to finish the unfinished business."
Dennis Schroder could once again make a solid impact playing alongside LeBron James. Schroder can operate efficiently off the ball and play as a secondary ball-handler, while also contributing on the defensive end.
The LA Lakers need the intensity and physicality Schroder brings to the table after direly missing both those elements last season. He adds to their list of efficient 12-point-per-game scorers, which is crucial for a team hoping to contend for a championship.