Dennis Schroder is the key for the Lakers

We briefly mentioned Dennis Schroder in the last section, but he had a terrific showing in Game 2 against the Suns, which was a key to their win in Phoenix. Schroder had 24 points on 8-16 shooting and also knocked down two big three-point shots in this game. 

You can point to AD having a great game, as well as LeBron knocking down some shots late in the game to seal the deal for the Lakers, but without Dennis Schroder being aggressive and getting to the basket, the Lakers would have lost this game, which is why he is the key for them moving forward. 

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We talked about Schroder’s impact on the Lakers in our Game 1 takeaways article and much like we described there, we are going to say the same thing again! In Game 1, Schroder found a lot of success driving to the rim and finishing strong and in Game 2, he used these same moves to his advantage. 

Schroder’s 14 point second-quarter was huge for the Lakers in Game 2 and as a result, they were able to springboard themselves to a commanding lead, which ultimately proved to be the difference in this game. 

In Game 3, the Lakers will need to have the ball in Schroder’s hands again as he looks to stay aggressive and for the Suns, they will need to play a little bit tighter defense in terms of the driving lanes when Schroder has the ball in his hands because of how fast he can get inside the paint and to the rim.