Dennis Schröder smiled when he was asked to answer questions about a key question in German national team basketball. What happens if he, the quick as an arrow, witty defender, fails? “I did it extra,” said the man from Braunschweig about half an hour after the 112:113 defeat against Canada in the Supercup in Hamburg, the last preparatory game in Germany before the start of the World Cup on August 25th. He took himself out of the game?
Sometimes you don’t know what Schröder does “extra”, plans cleverly with foresight or what happens intuitively. But this time it didn’t happen “extra”. In the same breath, the Toronto Raptors pro repeated his joke about his fifth foul: “Jokes aside, I could have been a little smarter.” So should have avoided the fifth foul to stay in the game instead of in the last six minutes having to watch the regular playing time and the five-minute overtime because of the exhausted foul quota. It would have been very smart if Schröder had deliberately given his team a difficult task at the right time. “The minutes without him were perhaps,” said national coach Gordon Herbert, “a good experience” for the team.
Schroeder was unstoppable
Eleven minutes without Schröder against a top team like Canada? If you want to appreciate what that means, you first have to look at the 34 minutes with him in the central position of the playmaker: 26 points alone, an excellent hit rate of sixty percent on his throws, cheeky “threes” from well beyond the three-point Line in important moments, fueled by his desire to show the opponent. It was the annoying, intrusive closeness of the gripping, pressing, sometimes striking Canadian defenders that Schröder knew how to transform into the best he has to offer for himself and his teammates (eight assists).
When he sometimes shyly lowers his eyes to the ground during the conversation after the game, the fiery eyes of a jaguar on his cap look around as if in lieu. This is how Schröder fixed his opponents on Sunday evening when they wanted to restrict his room for maneuver on the floor and dispute his position – and after every direct hit. Schroeder was unstoppable. Can’t he be replaced?
Yes. This is the first answer to everything that can be seen from a distance in the German team. But not a satisfying one for a side looking to come back from the World Cup in Japan and the Philippines with something tangible. Decorated with a medal if possible, with the qualification for the Olympic Games in Paris in 2024 in the bag. She is at the zenith of her performance around the Olympics. That’s why she can’t afford to be dependent on Schröder in every situation with this claim. Can you do without him?
When Schröder had to leave the field, the Germans led by five points. They scored another 23 including overtime, Canada 29. There is no question of an offensive collapse under the elegant Maodo Lo’s leadership. But the attempt to place the responsibility for the decision in the hands of the highly talented Franz Wagner (18 points) failed. He didn’t score anymore.
This may also have been due to the fact that the almost 22-year-old Berliner from the Orlando Magic sometimes carried the ball forward from his own half at the end of an exhausting game in which the Germans had largely led but never got out of reach, so always stayed under pressure. Nevertheless, they had the chance to win in their hands, right up to the last few seconds. Although next to Schröder, the surprise of the World Cup preparations in the last quarter was only on the bench as a precaution after an injury: Daniel Theis (16 points) looks more dynamic and accurate than ever.
The offensive spectacle of the game at a high level confirms the reputation of the Germans. In view of the talent to be able to score baskets from all positions, and be it from the twelfth man David Krämer (3) lying halfway across the air at half-time, the attack will not fail. Anyone who scores 101 points in 40 minutes will know where to put it, especially against an esteemed opponent like Canada. “It doesn’t get any harder than that,” Schröder said of the North Americans’ use of body and fighting spirit.
A comment by Anno Hecker Published/Updated: , Recommendations: 12 Published/Updated: Anno Hecker Published/Updated: , Recommendations: 2
The fireworks on both sides for the great entertainment of the audience concealed a weak point: Allowing 101 points in regular time, being so open is, according to statistics, the wrong way to win games, let alone championships. Victories in European basketball usually come from effective, tough defense. The defense was not convincing even with Schröder in the game. RJ Barrett’s move to the basket was never able to stop the man who astounded with ten goals in eleven attempts (90.9 percent!).
Against Canada it was noticeable how much the injury of defensive artist Nick Weiler-Babb and the withdrawal of Maxi Kleber from the squad after a verbal attack from Schröder can weaken the team. “We will have to work on the one-on-one defense and the teamwork,” said Herbert. He saw slacks in man-to-man defense as well as zone coverage. But no reason to doubt progress after the comparatively short preparation. At the weekend his team is expected to continue their World Cup development with games in Abu Dhabi against Greece and the United States. “If we have a (development) ladder with ten steps,” said Herbert, “then we are now on step three or four.”
