Los Angeles Lakers: 3 bold predictions for the 2020-21 season
By Kent Coleman
Los Angeles Lakers bold predictions: Dennis Schröder Averages 20+ Points Per Game
Recently, Frank Vogel made it clear that he wants to see Schröder play alongside LeBron James. If this is true, and Schröder does find himself playing extended minutes with the King, expect him to do two things, play pesky perimeter defense and get BUCKETS.
Last year, Schröder averaged 18.9 Points Per Game coming of the bench for the Oklahoma City Thunder. While it’s true he did have the ball in his hands more often than he will when playing with LeBron, he excelled at two things successful Bron teammates need to excel at: catch and shoot threes, and wide-open shots.
In 30.8 minutes, Schröder shot 41.4% on catch-and-shoot threes and an even better 44.6% percent on wide-open shots.
This is perfect for when he and James do share the court together. And when they don’t, Schröder will be asked to create a lot of the offense himself, something he’s done well his whole career, and something that netted him 19.4 points per game in 2017-2018 while playing with the Atlanta Hawks.
With LeBron James and Anthony Davis drawing so much of the defense’s attention, Schröder will find himself on the receiving end of even more open looks and catch and shoot threes. He’ll have the ball in his hands plenty when James sits and will get to feast when James is playing. For this reason, look for Schröder to score at least 20 points per game this season.
Realistic Prediction
While it is very possible Schröder does score 20+ a night, there are a number of really good scorers on this Lakers team, so it’s possible that he doesn’t get as many shots up as would be needed to score that much. This is not necessarily a bad thing, as it’s always good to have players who can score the ball, but there does lie a chance that Schröder is asked to facilitate more when he’s on the court.
Either way, whether he’s pouring in buckets, distributing to his teammates, or playing pesky defense, Schröder’s impact will definitely be felt all over the floor this year.