Dennis Schroder absence from the bubble takes away the advantage the Oklahoma City Thunder have gained playing multiple point guards at a time.
Not only will Oklahoma City lose its three-guard unit with Schroder gone for the birth of his child, but head coach Billy Donovan will have to limit the amount of time two-guard lineups are used.
The Thunder typically rely on having two of Schroder, Chris Paul and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander on the court at the same time. But without another reliable playmaker in the second unit, Paul and Gilgeous-Alexander will have to play staggered minutes much more than often.
While Gilgeous-Alexander has typically been off-ball this year, he expressed confidence to be the lead man.
“That’s not something that’s super foreign to me,” he said after the game against the Portland Trail Blazers, which Chris Paul sat out for.
“I’ve been a lead guard, a point guard my whole life. So yeah, I’ve just been getting back to what I’m used to and it felt good out there.”
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There is little sample size this season to evaluate him. In the 80 total minutes Gilgeous-Alexander has been on the court with both Paul and Schroder off, the Thunder have been outscored by 24 in 160 possessions.
There have only been two games that either Schroder or Paul have missed. The second-year guard was excellent in one and couldn’t find his shot in the other.
Schroder missed Dec. 29, a game in which Gilgeous-Alexander went off for 32 points on 21 shots and had seven rebounds, though only two assists.
The game Chris Paul missed was Jan. 27, the day after the death of Kobe Brant. With the entire basketball world reeling, it’s not a realistic game to gauge a performance due to the emotions and atmosphere of the week. Gilgeous-Alexander struggled, making just five of 20 field goal attempts. He finished with 16 point, 11 rebounds and four assists.
More recently, Gilgeous-Alexander 10 points with seven assists in 16 minutes in the scrimmage against the Blazers sans-Paul.
Donovan said after that game that Gilgeous-Alexander has been getting more time as the lead guard during practices.
“He got enough minutes out there by himself. We’re going to have to look at that,” Donovan said after the Blazers scrimmage. “If there’s one guy who I’d feel comfortable handling that it would be him because he’s going to work hard to get better at that.”
On Monday, the first real bubble game Schroder missed, Gilgeous-Alexander scored 24 points on 6-for-13 shooting and had five rebounds with two assists.
It will be an adjustment, but Schroder has enough experience throughout his basketball life that he’s confident he can handle the job. Plus, playing the 1 as well as the 2 can help him round into a better player in the future.
He already says that playing off-ball has made him better.
“If you look at all the great teams, the really great players, in order for them to win they have to be able to play multiple positions and not only stick to one,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “And that’s the player that I ultimately want to be when I’m done with this game.”
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