SAN FRANCISCO – Dennis Schröder's first practice as a member of the Warriors on Tuesday at Chase Center had him on the same side he always has been when playing against his newest team: Opposite of Steph Curry.
“Today I put him opposed, because I wanted to get him with that second group,” coach Steve Kerr said. “I thought that was more important than getting him with Steph in that first group, but there will be both – for sure.”
Schröder, acquired Sunday via trade with the Brooklyn Nets, arrived in San Francisco on Monday to take his physical. He went through his first Warriors practice Tuesday where the team went over late-game situations, something that has bitten them badly in their current 2-8 rough stretch after starting the season 12-3. The veteran guard will get another practice in Wednesday before making his team debut when the Warriors travel to play the Memphis Grizzlies on Thursday.
Kerr already has used 13 different starting lineups through the Warriors’ first 25 games this season. Though Schröder wasn’t part of Curry’s group their first time together, don’t expect that to last long.
If Schröder isn’t in the starting lineup Thursday in Memphis, he likely will be much sooner than later.
“I think so,” Kerr said when asked if Schröder will start. “We’ve got to sort it out and figure out what that means and go from there. But really good chance he’ll start.”
And when Curry isn’t on the court, Schröder will be.
Golden State Warriors
“He will definitely play all the non-Steph minutes,” Kerr continued. “But I like the idea of them together as well. So, good chance that’s the way we go, but we got to make that decision and sort through some options.”
How Schröder will fit, on and off the court, was an immediate question upon the news that he would be a Warrior. He doesn’t naturally fit Kerr’s ball-movement style of offense. Schröder is much more of a pick-and-roll type of offensive cog.
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This season, he’s averaging a career-high 6.5 3-point attempts per game and is connecting on a career-best 38.7 percent from long distance. Schröder also is a menace in the mid-range, shooting an NBA-best 60.5 percent from that distance.
These Warriors as currently constructed are all about pace and space, running the floor and letting it fly. Schröder brings a new wrinkle. Kerr, recognizing they are different players, compared his new 12-year veteran to Chris Paul’s one season in a Warriors jersey and also alluded to similarities in what Jordan Poole brought as a quick, explosive scorer.
What has stood out most about Schröder's offense as he’s reached a dozen years in the NBA is his efficiency. His 18.4 points per game is the second-best mark of his career, as is his 45.2 field-goal percentage. Schröder's 114.7 offensive rating is 0.3 points off his career best.
But his effective field-goal percentage (54.2 percent) and true shooting percentage (58.8 percent) are both the highest of his career.
The confidence he now has in his shot couldn’t be more obvious to Kerr. When Schröder scored 31 points against the Warriors on Nov. 25, including 17 in the fourth quarter, Kerr said it pissed him off how often he knew Schröder was going to shoot and that it always was the right shot.
“I just think he’s at the point in his career where, at 31, his mind and body are kind of at the top of where they’re connected. … I just feel like he’s at his peak right now in terms of his awareness of what wins,” Kerr said.
At the end of the day, as with any decision the Warriors make, this is all about Curry. Getting him some help, easing the burden and seeing if this move gets him one step closer to a fifth championship ring.
Curry, Kerr and the rest of the Warriors already have encouraged Schröder to be himself as a player instead of trying to overcorrect and conform to how they do things. Push the ball if you have it. If you don’t, run with Curry.
Schröder knows what that means, too. A whole lot of open shots should be there for him.
“I mean, 80, 90, 95 percent, they’re going to blitz the pick-and-roll, so it’s going to be wide-open shots on the weak side,” Schröder said. “I’ll be ready for it. Playing with [Curry], obviously it’s going to be a lot of shots, so I’ve got to be ready for that as well.”
Between the regular season, play-in tournament and playoffs, Curry and Schröder have played each other 24 times in their careers, and they’ve each won exactly 12 games against each other. Whether Schröder was playing the Warriors or a different team, Curry and Golden State subconsciously always have been on his mind.
“When you go into the NBA app and you see Golden State played you get excited, because how he plays, he plays like it’s a video game,” Schröder said. “Just having fun, laughing, making the right reads every single time. He’s one of the superstars who I got a lot of respect for because he doesn’t care if he scored 10, 20, 30 or 40.
“When he’s getting double teamed, he’s making the right plays. I’m really excited; I can’t say it enough.”
Starting Thursday, everything gets real. Not a video game, but an experiment in front of our eyes that either will combust or be the perfect formula for Curry and the rest of the Warriors.
