The Houston Rockets entered their matchup against the Phoenix Suns with the worst record in the Western Conference with the vision of developing the young players and rebuilding the roster for the future. According to Rockets executive Rafael Stone, part of those plans was bringing in Dennis Schroder to provide leadership and fill in as needed.
Rafael Stone says he believes giving minutes to Eric Gordon and Dennis Schröder the rest of the season will help the development of the Rockets young guards: “I think Eric’s been extraordinarily helpful to the development of our young guards…” pic.twitter.com/dcgUuB7EEv
— Adam Spolane (@AdamSpolane) February 11, 2022
Stone further explained what Schroder can bring to this team going forward via USA Today Sports.
“Dennis is not by any means like an over-the-hill veteran,” Stone said. “He’s just a really good basketball player and has been for years. Depending upon how you measure it, we’re either the fastest or one of the top three or four fastest teams in the NBA, and he’s obviously electric in the open court, and he’s an above-average defender. So I think it’s going to be a good fit, or I hope it’s going to be a good fit, both ways.”
Schroder was placed in the starting lineup due to a Kevin Porter Jr. scratch and played precisely how the Rockets envisioned he would, leading the Rockets in scoring in a 124-121 loss.
Schroder averaged 14.4 points, 3.3 rebounds, and 4.2 assists as a Celtic. In his second game as a Rocket, the 28-year-old point guard put up a stat-line of 23 points, nine assists, and six rebounds, almost leading Houston to a big upset of the NBA’s best team.
Jalen Green flies in for the alley-oop 💥
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Rafael Stone and the Rockets will need more of Schroder’s production like this going forward.
“We play a five-out system, so you need multiple perimeter players on the court and multiple ballhandlers,” Stone said. “One of the things that is hard about playing four or five young guys at the same time is that making reads as a young player in the NBA is difficult.”
Schroder is in his ninth season.
