Dennis Schroder is finding his way in the NBA in a moment the high-flying Atlanta Hawks emerge as the league’s most surprising team.
The second-year point-guard saw his playing time increase from 13.1 to 17.8 minutes per game, and he also became more confident and productive for the Hawks (34-8), with career-highs 8 points and 3.3 assists per contests.
The German international of Gambian origin was selected 17th overall by the Hawks in the 2013 NBA Draft, and the NBA as one the league’s lesser-known rookies.
Now, with more than 40 games under his belt this season – he only played 49 games last season – the Braunschweig native is no longer a new face in the league, especially as he became a valuable asset for the Eastern Conference leading team.
You know what they call him?
“Some coaches here call me ‘The Menace.’ I kind of like it. I’ve never had a nickname before, so I’ll take ‘The Menace’. That’s cool,” he recently said.
After spending some time in the Development League, in his rookie year, and working in the summer league last year, ‘The Menace’ stepped up his game with a combination of good ball handling and speed to make jaws drop around the League.
On 22 December, the 21-year-old played the best game of his NBA career.
In that game, he came up against his childhood idol and countryman Dirk Nowitzki, and also faced Rajon Rondo, a player he admired in his early days of his basketball career.
Schroder did really well in that match-up, and finished with a career-high-high 22 points. He dished out six assists in a 105-102 victory at Dallas Mavericks, while Nowitzki poured in 16 points, and Rondo finished with a game-best 11 assists.
Although Schroder is still a back guard to Jeff Teague, when coach Mike Budenholzer calls him off the bench he does almost as well as Teague.
Budenholzer, who spent seven seasons as assistant coach to Gregg Popovic, is now credited for turning the Hawks into Spurs East.
Al Horford, one of the Hawks leading scorers with 15.2 points per game, and named Player of Week, told NBA TV on Tuesday how surprising this season has been, not only to fans and observers, but for the players themselves.
“Yes, it is a surprise. I knew that we a chance to do some special things as a team. We are playing much better than we anticipated at this point of the season. I feel there is some room for improvement, but it is a very nice surprise for us.”
The Hawks are currently on a 13-game winning streak, and show no signs of slowing down.
The Hawks will host the Indiana Pacers on Wednesday.
