Detroit Pistons turn to Dennis Schroder for more depth in facing Chicago Bulls
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Detroit Pistons' newly acquired guard, Dennis Schroder, speaking to head coach J.B. Bickerstaff in the second quarter of their game against the Charlotte Hornets.
PHOTO: REUTERS
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CHICAGO – Point guard Cade Cunningham leads the Detroit Pistons on the floor and he is the team’s top scorer at 25.5 points per game this National Basketball Association (NBA) season.
Everyone could use a breather, though, and the Pistons like the early returns from backup guard Dennis Schroder.
Schroder will look to keep building during their visit to the Chicago Bulls on Feb 11 (Feb 12, Singapore time).
Acquired via trade last week, he contributed five points and three assists in 15 minutes in his team debut on Feb 9, helping Detroit top the visiting Charlotte Hornets 112-102.
Chicago are expected to have an up-close look at a lot of Schroder’s assimilation into the rotation. The game marks the first in a back-to-back between the teams in Chicago before the All-Star break.
Detroit entered the week as the sixth seed in the Eastern Conference and is confident Schroder can help keep the play-off pursuit steady as Jaden Ivey (broken left fibula) remains out.
His promising start ultimately will expand his role and even allow for sharing the floor with Cunningham, who had a triple-double of 19 points, 12 assists and 10 rebounds against the Hornets.
“Teams have been wanting to put a lot of bodies on Cade,” Detroit coach J.B. Bickerstaff said. “Now he can come off and find a guy like Dennis, who has the ability to make plays and attack the paint and force rotations.
“Also, things like bringing the ball up the floor and then having Cade off the ball and being able to play different actions to get the ball back in his hands, those types of things.”
The Bulls are 7-3 in the past 10 meetings with the Pistons. The teams have split their first two games this season, including Detroit’s 127-119 home win on Feb 2.
Chicago have lost 11 of 15 to fall a season-worst nine games below .500 but still enters Feb 11 with a 1½-game lead on Philadelphia for the No. 10 seed and final slot in the East play-in tournament.
The Bulls are 1-2 since trading leading scorer Zach LaVine to the Sacramento Kings.
Guard Coby White has remained a go-to option for the Bulls on either side of that move. He has scored at least 20 points in five consecutive games, including a team-leading 27 in the 132-111 loss to Golden State on Feb 8 to kick off a three-game homestand.
White connected on six of nine attempts from long range against the Warriors. Coach Billy Donovan called his ability to make “some very deep, tough shots” a key to the Bulls surging to a 24-point third-quarter lead.
Yet Chicago trailed by as many as 25 points down the stretch, and the culprit was frustratingly familiar – inconsistency.
After holding strong on the glass and being secure with the ball in the first half, the Bulls struggled in both departments against the Warriors after half-time.
“That’s the growth (needed) for this group,” Donovan said. “They’ve got to be able to raise their level of play.”
The Bulls hope renewing their rivalry with the Pistons will help spark big man Nikola Vucevic, who has scored no more than 12 points in his past three games, significantly below his season average of 19.3.
Vucevic has posted a double-double in five straight games against Detroit while averaging 24.4 points and 11.2 rebounds over that span.
Meanwhile in NBA action on Feb 10, the Cleveland Cavaliers overcame a 44-point display from Anthony Edwards to maintain their grip on the Eastern Conference with a 128-107 victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves.
Evan Mobley led the Cavs’ scoring with 28 points, 10 rebounds, six assists and four blocks on a night when six Cleveland scorers cracked double figures.
The Cavaliers improved to 43-10 to remain 5½ games clear of the second-placed Boston Celtics, who were comfortable 103-85 winners over the Miami Heat.
Luka Doncic produced 14 points, five rebounds and four assists in his Los Angeles Lakers debut and LeBron James added 24 points, seven rebounds and eight assists as the newly formed star duo led the way to a 132-113 victory over the visiting Utah Jazz. REUTERS, AFP
