Dennis Schroder out of Atlanta Hawks’ rotation?
By John Buhler
Dennis Schroder has not played in the Atlanta Hawks’ last two games due to Mike Budenholzer’s decision. Is something up with our backup point guard?
Dennis Schroder over the last few seasons has demonstrated why he was a first round pick by the Atlanta Hawks in the 2013 NBA Draft. He can take over a game with his play at the point like his idol Rajon Rondo and even outperformed his fellow countryman in Dirk Nowitzki on the court.
Other nights, we see why he remains the backup to All-Star point guard Jeff Teague. The streaky shooting, the questionable decision making, the turnovers. However, he has proven himself at the very least a key rotational piece on a contending team.
What makes this interesting is that Dennis Schroder has not played in either of the Atlanta Hawks’ last two games: at Houston and at New York. He only played for 11 minutes and 44 seconds in Indianapolis against the Indiana Pacers on December 28th when he’s averaged 21.5 minutes per game this season.
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Has he fallen out of favor with head coach Mike Budenholzer? What is the reasoning behind Schroder’s benching of late. He hasn’t played in a week!
According to Matt Winkeljohn of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Dennis Schroder “is not in the doghouse.” Budenholzer commented on Schroder’s lack of play of late, “[Schroder] keeps competing in practice, doing what he’s doing. Part of it is Shelvin [Mack]’s been busting his butt, working hard. I think to give guys opportunities and to develop all 15 guys is important. Dennis will get his opportunities.”
What this means is that the sparsely played Shelvin Mack has earned minutes over Dennis Schroder for one reason or another. Mack doesn’t have as high of a ceiling as Schroder, but his floor considerably high for a backup point guard. In essence, we know what we’re getting out of Shelvin Mack every night, where with Dennis Schroder, he’s either the sixth man or the least efficient player on the court.
Next: Atlanta Hawks fall to New York Knicks, 111-97
Budenholzer rarely uses more than a two point guard rotation in his backcourt, so that could explain why it has only been Mack and Teague the last two games. However, Atlanta need some extra juice in their poor perimeter defensive game against the New York Knicks on Sunday afternoon, allowing shooting guard Arron Afflalo completely torch the Hawks with his season-high 38 points. Schroder is only 22 years old, so maybe this is another step in the growing process for the Atlanta Hawks point guard.