Schröder helps team have good ol’ time
Dennis (Moderna) Schröder again brought normality back to Staples Center on Sunday. Two doses, and the Lakers look immune to everything.
They certainly felt no discomfort from the road-weary, half-brained effort that Golden State brought to town.
Schröder turned the key in the first quarter, LeBron
James swished a 3-pointer at the halftime buzzer, and the Lakers had an enjoyable workout, even letting new teammate Damian Jones frolic in the second half, and winning 117-91.
Fortunately there were no fans to gaze longingly at the price of their tickets as the charade continued to build. The Lakers sent either Marc Gasol or Markieff Morris to harass Stephen Curry, which worked, and the rest of it was the Lakers adjusting to the idea of extended weeks without Anthony Davis.
“You welcome nights like this,” said Lakers coach Frank Vogel. “It’s been great to have Dennis back the last two games.”
The four-game losing streak without Schröder was illuminating. A little grotesque, too. The Lakers had 29 fast break points, combined, in those games. They
shot 43.8% from the floor. Their opponents shot 49.9. They shot 28.9 from the 3-point line. Their opponents shot 40.8.
When Schröder returned Friday, the Lakers beat the crippled Trail Blazers, and now this. It has been obvious since opening night that Schröder was much more than a bucket of decimal points, that his rapid heartbeat was a prod for everyone else on the floor.
Schröder was with Oklahoma City last season and finished up on Sept. 2. The Lakers weren’t done until Oct. 11. He came here with a full charge. He raised eyebrows when he casually mentioned that he expected to start for the Lakers, and now you see what happens when he does not.
Lakers fans can now hang up on various hotlines and realize that the original assumptions are still valid, that a healthy roster is still favored to win another championship.
But there are still variables, primarily found in the further devolution of James Naismith’s bright idea.
The ultimate snapshot of NBA ’21 came Thursday when Denver played Washington. The Nuggets were down by two points on their final possession when Jamal Murray broke loose with the ball on a 4-on-1 situation. But Murray stopped short of the foul line, and Facundo Campazzo, Michael Porter and Monte Morris got to the 3-point line as if it were a fallen electrical wire.
No need to protect the rim when no one wants to go there. Murray turned perhaps a 99% chance at a game-tying layup into a pass to Campazzo, who missed a 3-pointer.
Morris put his hands on his knees and stared at the floor. Various NBA legends rotated in graves. Every team in every classification in every country begins every practice with some sort of layup drill. But the Nuggets and almost everyone else in the league are solidly in the grips of Arc Madness.
NBA teams are averaging 34.9 3-point attempts per game. Only five seasons ago they were averaging 24.1. But their percentage from deep space is 36.9%, which would be an NBA record.
Three-ball has been an inexorable takeover, fueled by the fact that shooting has become a requirement, not just an attribute. If you can’t shoot and you’re not Ben Simmons, you’re probably in the wrong sport.
Already the Eastern Conference is trembling over what happens when Brooklyn puts Kevin Durant, James Harden and Kyrie Irving on the same court for a 7-game series. Worried about defense? The Nets aren’t. If you can think you can score 140 and beat them, be their guest.
The Utah Jazz, a legitimate defensive team with Rudy Gobert in the middle, is just as ravenous. In one game last week they took 88 field goal attempts, and 58 of them were 3s. Their reserves shot 19 for 28 from back there. Georges Niang was 7 for 7. That won’t happen each night, but the Jazz, with the best record in the league, are headed for a league record with 42.8 such attempts per game. Three other teams are above 40.
The Lakers, who launch 30.9 3s a game, win with two of the best five players in the world, a rigid defense and the ability to overwhelm teams on the run. Has the game changed? Is good defense helpless against better offense?
Or will Philadelphia use conventional weapons to disassemble Brooklyn’s Ferris wheel and play the Lakers in a final series that features old-time, twopoint religion?
For the moment, all we know is that the shots go down easier when Dennis Schröder is rolling up his sleeve, and yours.