2. Improved playmaking
One area in which Dennis Schroder has made great strides during this season is his playmaking. Since LeBron James‘ injury, Schroder’s assists have skyrocketed from 4.7 per game to 7.9 per game, including recently putting together a stretch of three consecutive games with double-digit assists.
When LeBron is available, Schroder’s role is to settle in as a secondary playmaker, so the low assist numbers aren’t an issue per se. Furthermore, his numbers as the team’s primary playmaker are encouraging to teams who’ll be in discussions with Schroder this offseason.
However, the big question that both rival teams and the Lakers will be asking is whether this is a flash-in-the-pan. After all, the only two seasons in his career where he averaged more than six assists per game were when he played for the Atlanta Hawks.
While it’s unfortunately not possible to delve into Schroder’s advanced passing metrics this season with and without LeBron, the season-long numbers paint a moderately positive picture of his playmaking acumen.
In particular, Schroder excels at high-value assist creation per 75 possessions (93rd percentile), box creation (92nd percentile), an estimate of open shots carved out for teammates by generating defensive attention, and assist points per 75 possessions (91st percentile).
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Schroder’s overall playmaking talent grade is in the 85th percentile, a solid number in a vacuum. However, when comparing Schroder’s playmaking proficiency to his peers (guards making approximately $20 million per year), he is again a class below his contemporaries. For reference, LaVine’s playmaking talent grade is in the 89th percentile, VanVleet is in the 93rd percentile, and Brogdon is in the 94th percentile.
To take that next step as a playmaker, Schroder not only needs to prove that he can generate scoring opportunities for his teammates over an extended period but needs to clean up his passing efficiency. According to Bball Index, his -0.77 passing efficiency grade ranks in the 16th percentile and is the facet of playmaking that he needs to work on the most.