Well-traveled Pistons guard Dennis Schröder thrived in his role as a defensive pest throughout Detroit’s playoff series against New York this spring, writes Jared Schwartz of The New York Post.
With the Pistons having been eliminated by New York in a hard-fought first round playoff series on Thursday, Schröder will be an unrestricted free agent this summer. After inking a two-year, $25.4MM deal with Toronto in 2023, he was moved to Brooklyn, Golden State and finally Detroit.
Although Schröder has asserted that he appreciated his experiences with those other clubs, he has really relished his Pistons tenure.
“I think Detroit is one of the best situations I’ve been in,” Schröder said. “I don’t have to change my style of play, I can be myself. I got a coach who is going at the refs, who is not taking no crap. I’m like that. That’s the reason I’m in the league for 12 years. I’m 6-foot-1, I’ve got to find my way somehow. I love that I don’t have to change myself and I can just be who I am. My teammates embrace me. I just try to help every game.”
Across six games for Detroit, the 31-year-old averaged 12.5 points while slashing .491/.476/.813. He also notched averages of 3.7 dimes, 2.3 boards and 1.2 steals, in just 27.4 minutes per.
There’s more out of the Central Division:
- All-Star Cavaliers guard Darius Garland is considered “day-to-day” ahead of Cleveland’s second round clash against Indiana as he deals with a toe injury, per Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com (subscriber link). “I’m not going to make a judgment either way,” head coach Kenny Atkinson said of revealed Garland’s availability. “There’s some concern there. I could see it go either way. I think it’s something he’s going to have to deal with probably the rest of the playoffs.”
- Pacers All-Star guard Tyrese Haliburton‘s father, John, got into something of an altercation with Milwaukee forward Giannis Antetokounmpo following Indiana’s 119-118 Game 5 overtime contest and series victory. John Haliburton incited the incident by running onto the court and getting in Antetokounmpo’s face immediately after the final buzzer sounded. Per Shams Charania of ESPN, the elder Haliburton will stay away from all Pacers games for the foreseeable future. John Haliburton did apologize to Antetokounmpo after the fact. During an interview with Scott Agness of Fieldhouse Files (subscriber link), John Haliburton tried to explain what happened in his own words. “Watch the real video and you’ll see that it wasn’t what they thought it was,” John Haliburton said. “Yeah, you saw me standing there looking at Giannis; yeah, you did. But I wasn’t trying to intimidate him. I don’t intimidate nobody, I’m humble. I don’t believe in that, it was just one of those moments.”