Dennis Schroder
Position: Point Guard
2015-16 statistics: 11 PPG, 4.4 APG, 2.6 RPG
2015-16 slash line: 42.1/32.2/79.1
The time for Dennis Schroder to take over as the starting point guard has been long-awaited dating back to mid-season of 2015-16. Now, all eyes are on him and there is immense pressure on his shoulders to be the floor general that this Hawks team needs in order to make their tenth-straight playoff appearance.
While Schroder has the ability of taking his man off the dribble and finishing around the rim, the one area offensively he has yet to prove he can be consistent is shooting. In his three seasons in the NBA, Schroder has compiled a 32.4 three-point percentage, not exactly the results that will force the defense to respect him on the perimeter.
If he can improve that number at least to 35 percent, it’ll make his match-up have to account for him that much more, which ultimately will result in more opportunities for Schroder attack driving lanes. It’ll also make coming off ball-screens much more effective, as teams now are just going way under the screen, which takes away the roller.
Forcing his match-up to fight over the screen would present the opportunity to Schroder to either attack the hedging big man and take him one-on-one, or attract both the big and his match-up for just a split second, long enough for guys like Dwight Howard or Paul Millsap to find an opening rolling to the basket for an easy two.
Next: Shooting Guard