In case you don’t already know, Dennis Schroder is a bad, bad man

Hey Hawks fans, our franchise player, Dennis Schroder, can ball and there might not be anyone in the league capable of staying in front of him on an isolation situation.

Let’s start with some stats. 31.9 minutes per game, 23.6 points shooting 51.2% from the field and 44.1% from three along with 7.1 assists per game and 2.8 boards. Schroder is the leader of this team and the man with the golden patch and the fluorescent yellow shoes is taking down names this season.

From the first game against the Mavericks to last night’s win against Cleveland, Dennis has been heavily involved and been at the nucleus at the success, albeit slight, that the Hawks have enjoyed.

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Last night’s affair in Cleveland saw the German national explode into his most efficient performance as of yet and absolutely blew by the Cavs defense time after time. His ability to get to the bucket in the blink of an eye is his calling card and Coach Bud is running with it.

His facilitating, 9 assists, also helped get 6 other Hawks into double figures last night in what has been their best performance so far, this season. Many have commented on the dearth of talent in the Eastern Conference these days, but players like Schroder keep stepping up and showing that the conference is still as competitive as ever.

Speed kills, and when Schroder is paired in the backcourt with Isaiah Taylor, they make defenses around them play against shadows.

This is exactly the type of performance that the Hawks needed moving forward. Schroder is the face of this franchise and is the leader out on the court, and when he has nights like last, the Hawks will remain contenders.

Tonight, Dennis will match up against fellow speed demon and former Cavalier Kyrie Irving. It will be interesting how the Hawks play against the current top-seeded Celtics and how Schroder plans to stifle Irving on the defensive end and look to expose him on the attack.

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Tipoff is at 7:30pm EST and you can watch the game on on FSSE-ATL with Bob Rathbun and Dominique Wilkins.