"He, for sure, has got it": Dennis Schroder on LeBron playing till 45, FIBA World Cup win and more (Exclusive); Darko Rajakovic laments refereeing
With his voice rising in anger, Toronto Raptors coach Darko Rajaković ripped the officiating following their 132-131 loss to the Los Angeles Lakers on Tuesday at Crypto.com Arena.
The main source of Rajaković’s frustration? The Lakers shot significantly more free throws (28-for-36) than the Raptors (8-for-23). In the fourth quarter alone, the Lakers shot 23 foul shots while Toronto had two attempts. Rajaković called the disparity “outrageous” and “completely BS.”
“Shame for the referees. Shame for the league to allow this,” Rajaković said. “Twenty-three free throws for them, and we get two free throws in the fourth quarter. How to play the game? I understand the respect for All-Stars, but we have All-Stars on our team as well.”
Lakers center Anthony Davis, who had a team-leading 41 points on 13-for-17 shooting and 11 rebounds, attempted more foul shots (13-for-14) than the entire Raptors team. Meanwhile, Toronto’s third-yeard forward Scottie Barnes had a team-leading 21 points shooting at a 11-for-20 clip while splitting his lone two free-throw attempts.
“How is it possible that Scottie Barnes, who is an All-Star caliber player in this league, he goes every single time to the rim with force, and tries to get to the rim without flopping and not trying to get foul calls, and he gets two free throws for the whole game?” Rajaković asked, rhetorically. “How is that possible? How are you going to explain that to me? ‘They had to win tonight?’ If that’s the case, just let us know so we don’t show up for the game. Just give them a win.”
The Raptors’ locker room liked hearing about Rajaković’s outburst.
“Coach is great. He’s always with us,” Raptors guard RJ Barrett said. “He’s always fighting for us. We’re behind him, for sure.”
Though Raptors guard Dennis Schröder lamented the "tough calls,” he told Sportskeeda that “we got to execute a little bit better” in crunchtime. What do they need to do to do that?
“We have to get some plays first,” Schröder said. “Good plays. Then, we have to make sure we put the weakest defenders in that action and make sure we screen and then execute.”
Dennis Schroder interview (Exclusive)
Schröder also talked to Sportskeeda about LeBron James and if he can play until age 45, reuniting with Lakers coach Darvin Ham, accepting a bench role with the Raptors and Germany’s gold-medal win in the FIBA World Cup.
Editor’s note: The following one-on-one conversation has been condensed and edited
What were the highlights of the LeBron James teammate experience?
Schröder:
“With LeBron, how he takes care of his body and how he just does things. As an athlete and as a professional, he leads the way. During my first year, I was shocked by how he took care of his body. I have learned a lot from him there, even with how he works out. He sacrifices so much time into the game. That’s the reason why he’s here 21 years later, and still doing damage.”
Why did that shock you?
Schröder:
“Because I had never seen it before like that. He’s a guy who makes sure he’s always ready every single game. When the game is at 7:30 pm, he is here at like 3 and making sure that his body is right. There are lot of things that I took from him. It’s always good to play with the best basketball player in the world as well.”
You said in an earlier interview that he wants to play until he’s 45. What do you think?
Schröder:
“Let’s see. He, for sure, has got it. He hasn’t slowed down at 39 now. He can play however long he wants to play with how he takes care of his body.”
What’s your big-picture assessment of the season so far with the Raptors?
Schröder:
“They’ve been there now for five games with us [points over to Immanuel Quickley and RJ Barrett]. We’re still trying to put them in that system and get to know them. But I think we’re doing a great job with sharing the ball and with kick aheads and with making sure that everybody is touching it. We have to keep getting better. At the end of games, we got to execute a little bit better as well. But I think in the future, we’re going to be good.”
How can you guys execute better?
Schröder:
“We have to get some plays first. Good plays. Then, we have to make sure we put the weakest defenders in that action and make sure we screen and then execute.”
What are your feelings about coming off the bench now instead of starting?
Schröder:
“Either way, I still play 30 minutes [per game] like I did here [with the Lakers]. Wherever I can help just to impact the game and impact winning, I’ll do it. I think defensively, I’ll bring the energy. Offensively, I’ll be aggressive. I thought I could’ve been a little bit more aggressive [against the Lakers]. But at the end of the day, you watch film and have a breakfast meeting to get better. Then you move on.”
There are other stories saying that you’re not happy with coming off the bench. Is that overstating it?
Schröder:
“No, it’s whatever. I’m 30 [years old]. I got three kids and a wife. I’m blessed to play in the NBA. I get to see the floor every night. There’s nothing better than that. I got to be grateful and enjoy every single day of it. That’s it. I’ll compete at the highest level.”
I presume you’re also grateful for winning a gold medal last summer with Germany in the FIBA World Cup. What do you think was the key to your run?
Schröder:
“Just being a team. Everybody was doing their thing as a team and enjoyed the togetherness that we had. Every practice, every card game and every game, we were embracing it and were excited about it. We became a real team. Everybody stepped up. I think that’s why we won the gold medal.”
How did your leadership role compare with that team versus this team?
Schröder:
“It was different. I know everybody on the national team about five to 10 years now. So it’s different than when you come to a new organization and you don’t know everybody and I’m trying to find my way to see how everybody is. On the national team, I was the guy who brought the energy. When I saw people that didn’t bring the energy, I made sure they brought it right after the timeout. Here, I still have to find my way and see how everybody is and go from there.”
As an opponent, what was your perspective on Team USA”s struggles in the World Cup?
Schröder:
“That was a lot of sweetness! (laughs). Austin [Reaves] played great, and they had a lot of great players. But FIBA is always different. It’s a little bit different than the NBA. There weren’t a lot of people that had played in FIBA before. I think that was our advantage. I talked about being a team. I didn’t really see that they came together and they were one unit. In FIBA, I think it’s really important to be together and make sure you stick together, even if it’s bad or you’re losing games and down 20 [points]. You can fight back if you stay as a group. That made us special. It didn’t matter what type of situation we had. We always were willing to overcome it.”
As you said, it's a different dynamic. But you didn’t shy away from calling out the team following the loss to the Pistons. Why was that important to do?
Schröder:
“At the end of the day, somebody has to talk. OGs always talk. They always say what has to be said. I do the same thing. When I see something, I make sure I say it. Even when you call somebody out or call our team out, it’s not about calling this specific person out. It’s just for us to be better as a team and make sure we are better moving forward. It’s nothing personal."
"That’s the other thing with the international team. We put all the egos to the side. There were no egos. Whenever somebody came up to me and said, ‘Dennis, you got to do better,’ nobody took it personally. We have tried to create that culture here as well.”
What did it mean to reunite with Darvin before the game?
Schröder:
“It was great. I got to meet him before the game. I talked a little bit with him. It’s always great to see him. He’s like family. I’m glad he’s doing well.”
How would you contextualize what he did for your career in both of your stops with the Hawks (2013-2018) and Lakers (2022-23)?
Schröder:
“In Atlanta, it was really important for him to be there because he always kept me engaged. Even if I wasn’t playing, he told me, ‘Dennis, listen, just trust the process. You always have to go through the bulls---- to get to the good s----.’ That’s always what he said (laughs). I always live by it. I went through a lot of stuff in my career, but then I ended up with a gold medal this past summer."
"There are always setbacks to get to something bigger. I learned a lot from him, even with the Lakers. The first time I was with the Lakers? First round – out. Second time I came, we made it to the Western Conference Finals. It’s always great to be with him and catch up.”
To what extent did you lean on that philosophy when you went through the in-between with both Lakers stints and how things played out in free agency?
Schröder:
“The free agency thing is whatever. People say things about it. But I don’t need to say it again. At the end of the day, to make the Western Conference Finals on the second one and come back, people told me I should come back. It’s way better to leave like that than the first time, for sure.”
Mark Medina is an NBA insider for Sportskeeda. Follow him on X, Instagram, Facebook and Threads.